Neoen, together with the South Australian Government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), have announced a 50 per cent expansion of the Hornsdale Power Reserve battery.
The 100MW / 129 MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve battery is the world’s largest lithium-ion battery and is located approximately 15 kilometres north of Jamestown, in South Australia.
The recently announced $71 million expansion project will see the battery expanded by 50 MW / 64.5 MWh to demonstrate the ability for grid-scale batteries to provide inertia services and fast frequency responses to the grid.
In what would be a first for the National Electricity Market, the project will provide an evidence base for further reform and innovation in grid management, including working with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to test and demonstrate the capability of battery control systems to provide digital inertia replacing the mechanical inertia traditionally provided by synchronous generators. The tests could help to reduce the current curtailment of solar PV and wind generation in South Australia.
Neoen will also work with AEMO to provide an evidence base to support an update of the current Market Ancillary Services Specifications to increase the permissible level of Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) registration for all providers, enabling large-scale batteries to provide this service to their full extent and unlock revenue streams to provide a commercial pathway for other large-scale batteries.
The Hornsdale battery extension could also allow for an increased power flow limit to the Heywood interconnector. According to ARENA, this could result in an improvement in spot prices when importing energy from Victoria.
Tesla, who built the original battery in less than nine months in 2017, will deliver the project on a full turn key construction basis.
On behalf of the Australian Government, ARENA will provide $8 million in funding towards the expansion project. The project will receive $15 million over five years from the South Australian Government’s Grid Scale Storage Fund to address grid reliability and security in the state.
It will also be the first battery project in Australia to receive benefit from debt financing support from the CEFC.
ARENA CEO, Darren Miller, said large-scale batteries will play a key role in ensuring reliability of supply and support for power system security, as Australia transitions to renewable energy.
“Large-scale batteries are playing an important role in providing short term, large-scale energy storage to help firm and balance the grid.”
“The Hornsdale battery is a ground-breaking project that has proven what batteries can do for our electricity system, and this expansion will now show that it is capable of much more by demonstrating inertia, expanded FCAS functionality and extended support for the Heywood interconnector,” Mr Miller said.
“Along with providing essential services to the South Australian grid, this will help to inform the regulatory changes required to value these services and create additional revenue markets for other batteries to enter the market on a commercial basis.”
“We hope this project will not only demonstrate the versatility of batteries in providing a range of grid services but also help pave the way for market reform,” Mr Miller added.
ARENA has now supported five grid-scale batteries including the ESCRI and Lake Bonney batteries in South Australia and two in Victoria at Ballarat and Gannawarra.
The expansion is expected to be completed in the first half of 2020.
