60 kW Battery Storage System To Be Tried In Sydney

September 25th, 2013 by Giles Parkinson

Originally published on RenewEconomy.

NSW network operator Ausgrid is installing a 60kW battery storage system in the Sydney suburb of Newington to see how it can help manage summer peak demand events.

The installation of the lithium-ion storage system is the biggest battery trial so far for Ausgrid, which operates in the eastern half of Sydney, the central coast and the Hunter region.

It is also the first battery storage installation on its side of the meter. A recently completed trial in the Hunter as part of the Smart City, Smart Grid program had 65 5kW battery storage systems in different homes in suburban Newcastle.

Ausgrid’s Paul Myors says the focus of the new trial would be to see how the battery storage functioned over the summer months, how it coped in hot ambient temperatures, and how it helped the operator cope with peak demand.

“Managing peak summer demand is our key driver as network operator. If we can knock that on the head, that’s a big saving for us,” he told RenewEconomy.

The full results of the suburban battery storage program, which used batteries from Australian developer RedFlow about the size of a small fridge, have not been released.

But Myors said the program showed that the technology was reliable and customer acceptance was good. One of the key challenges was making sure that the storage was able to dispatch for the entire peak period. “Peak lasts for a certain number of hours. You don’t want battery to run out of puff, because you will the lose benefit for the network.

Myors said there was still an “interesting” argument about batteries are best placed on the customer side of meter or the network side of the meter. The customers can get benefits if storing at low tariffs times and discharging at high tariff times, and there were benefits in using it as a back-up.

For networks, however, the deployment of battery storage on a grid side offered cost benefits. My role is about looking at non network options that can avoid capital expenditure,” he said. “Avoided network upgrades is the ultimate end game.”

He said it was clear that networks had to adapt to the rollout of solar PV and to learn how to accommodate it. He noted that in Newington, which had very high levels of penetration – solar was built on virtually every home when the suburb was erected for the Olympics – there were no great difficulties with voltage.

“Solar has certainly become a significant player on out network – we have now got 70,000 systems connected on our network. There has been dramatic growth, there are no two ways about it.

Myors said that it was clear solar PV was having an impact on peak demand in summer, which tended to occur around 4.30-5pm. He says around 32 per cent f rated capacity is operating during that network peak, and battery storage that lift that contribution if it could store from the middle of the day. “The introduction of storage could open up some signficantly greater benefits for network over time.”

Note: Last week wrote that Ausgrid had given a contract to US firm EnerNOC to extend their trial on their demand management program. An Australian company, GreenSync, is also delivering part of that program.

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Tags: Ausgrid, Australia, australia energy storage, enernoc, GreenSync, New South Wales, newcastle, NSW, Paul Myors, Smart City - Smart Grid, Suburban Battery Storage, Sydney

About the Author

Giles Parkinson is the founding editor of RenewEconomy.com.au, an Australian-based website that provides news and analysis on cleantech, carbon, and climate issues. Giles is based in Sydney and is watching the (slow, but quickening) transformation of Australia's energy grid with great interest.

Ivor O’Connor

Isn’t one 60kW battery for the suburb of Newington rather small. I’d think that might be more appropriate for a household. Tesla uses batteries of this size in their smallest cars but most people buy the 85kW version. (Tesla did away with their 40kW version because practically nobody bought that.)

Are you sure it is one 60kW battery for an entire suburb?
- MJ
  
  I’m not sure if the author meant to say 60 kWh battery – because in that case you are correct. But a 60 kW battery is different, kW measure POWER, what can be produced instantaneously, while kWh measures ENERGY, what can be released over time. Clarification on this battery, like the Ahrs and voltage would go a long way. If the author did mean 60 kWh, but used kW instead, that would be an egregious mistake for an author for an energy-centric site such as this to make.
  - Wayne Williamson
    
    The size is a “small fridge”. I think that puts it in the 60kwh range. That being said, I don’t think it would help much on the supply side…
    - MJ
      
      Yeah, that would be enough for 1 off grid house…and they would have to practice some conservation measures. The company I work for installs battery systems of this size regularly. I guess the interesting and novel thing about this is that it will be used by the utility rather than the homeowners. Put one of these in every neighborhood and the peak shaving becomes very powerful.
      - Ivor O’Connor
        
        Thanks. You are undoubtedly right.
    - Bob_Wallace
      
      Enough storage to let individual houses store their own solar for use in the late afternoon/evening peak demand hours would make a huge difference on the supply side by lowering demand.
      
      And then the end-user battery could store cheaper off-peak power to offset the early morning peak.
      
      On grids where there is daytime solar and nighttime wind this can really cut into the need to access more supply during the early/late peaks.
      - Tim..Wattson
        
        I don’t agree with you .
        
        I read comments back so time ago made by Mark W, on this site, in turn I followed Mark W advise and installed a 175kw battery system with a 35kw solar array and got off the Ausgrid network provider, so i don’t pay them one cent or pay other solar grid tied payments to those on the network which are free loading (rorting the Network).
        
        This year i have save $15,000 in power bills payments to Ausgrid, beside this i don’t have pay for poles and wire or a grid solar rorting payment system that cause electricity bill to sky-rocket out of control.
        
        No demand on the grid means no coal base load co2 emission, so get of the grid like Mark W told us, get off the carbon loading grid tied solar power and go at it alone.
        
        Why do we continue to use an out date network that continue to pollute the planet with carbon pollution.
        By going off the grid we cut carbon emission, if we continue to depend on the grid there is no hope of saving the planet because of the tree that get cut down for power poles to deliver carbon base energy to home.
- VA
  
  The article doesn’t say but I’m pretty sure the battery is 60kW/240kWh. So four times the standard Tesla battery pack.
  - Ivor O’Connor
    
    That’s interesting. I’ll have to be more careful in the future.