Energy Storage

British developer Lightsource bp’s plans to build the biggest solar farm and battery energy storage system on any of Australia’s main electricity grids has a green light to proceed after securing environmental approval from the Australian government.

Victorian electricity distributor Powercor has identified a clutch of towns in the state’s central highlands region as possible hosts for community-scale microgrids as it works to deliver improved energy security and reliability for customers across the state.

Western Australian regional energy provider Horizon Power will trial two novel long-duration energy storage technologies – including a zinc-bromine flow battery provided by Queensland manufacturer Redflow – as it seeks to identify new energy storage solutions for off-grid communities dealing with high levels of solar and extreme weather.

The first installations featuring the Tesla Powerwall 3 are currently being completed in the United States, with the company promoting a fully integrated solar-plus-storage and electric vehicle (EV) residential system, with big backup power capacity. While the first Powerwall created a new market segment, the latest iteration enters a marketplace in oversupply.

Battery technology company Lithium Australia’s 100%-owned subsidiary Envirostream is seeking to scale up its battery recycling efforts, signing an updated agreement with South Korean manufacturer LG Energy Solution in a move that could deliver 770 tonnes of lithium-ion batteries for recycling.

Adelaide-headquartered renewable energy gen-tailer Zen Energy will build South Australia’s second-largest battery energy storage system in a move expected to boost the reliability of electricity supply as the state gallops towards its 100% renewable energy target.

Perth-based resources company Australian Vanadium Limited has executed another element of its planned ‘pit to battery’ strategy, producing the first battery-ready vanadium electrolyte at its new manufacturing facility in Western Australia.

Western Australian government-owned utility Synergy has commenced construction of its third grid-scale battery as the state government looks to ramp up energy storage capacity to support its planned transition from coal-fired power generation to renewables.

Researchers in Italy have estimated the profitability of future vanadium redox flow batteries based on real device and market parameters and found that market evolutions are heading to much more competitive systems, with capital costs down to $430/kWh at a storage duration of 10 hours.

Big batteries are blooming in the Australian sun and they will play an increasingly important role as coal plants are switched off and the share of renewables rises in the energy mix.