Utility Scale Storage

Compressed air energy storage is not exactly a new technology, but recent months have seen this older storage technology with a new lease of life as intermittent renewable sources of energy come to the fore. Recent large-scale air storage plants have been announced in North America and the Middle East, and now some of that hot air has arrived on Australian shores.

A 125 kW/500kWh storage unit will be tested by China’s National Photovoltaic and Energy Demonstration Experimental Center. The storage system will be provided by Canadian specialist VRB Energy.

Renewables contracting giant Sterling and Wilson Solar has declared the integration of large-scale batteries into solar PV farms in Australia will be not only crucial for effective management of the nation’s energy supply as the transition to renewables continues at pace but can improve returns on utility scale solar investments.

What’s happening around the states? Western Australia to welcome big battery; South Australia developer plans major expansion; NSW solar farm rejected; and feasibility study supports Queensland green hydrogen project.

A massive solar+storage project in the New South Wales Central West tablelands has received the tick of approval from the state’s Department of Planning and Environment with construction likely to commence on the $418 million Stubbo Solar Farm in 2022.

The Australian Energy Market Commission has unveiled new rules designed to better integrate both small and large-scale batteries into the National Electricity Market and provide financial rewards for market participants who can respond at lightning-quick speeds to provide stability when the grid is under stress.

Electricity network owner Spark Investment has announced plans to develop a 2.5 GW renewable energy hub in New South Wales as it continues to move beyond owning regulated network infrastructure towards renewable energy generation assets.

AGL Energy will shut down the first of four gas-fired 200 MW units at its Torrens Island ‘B’ Power Station in South Australia within three months as it looks to navigate “challenging” market conditions prompted by the ongoing penetration of renewables into the energy grid.

Global infrastructure developer AECOM has run analysis on every petroleum fuel refinery and storage & import terminal in Australia and New Zealand as a novel means of locating sites well suited to future renewable development and hydrogen industries. “Some sites that were really suited to a wide range of end uses and those were our so-called ‘unicorn sites,’” AECOM’s Craig Bearsley told pv magazine Australia.

To truly seize on the opportunity afforded by the imminent battery boom, Australia needs to look beyond its historic role as a supplier of raw materials and broaden the horizons by adding value with downstream products and manufacturing, according to a recent Future Battery Industries report. Pv magazine Australia caught up with Vincent Algar, managing director of Australian Vanadium Limited – a company operating in this promising yet thorny realm.