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Darlington Point Solar Farm to receive 100MW battery

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The NSW based Darlington Point Solar Farm will receive a 100MW built adjacent to the facility as part of a $3.2b push from the NSW government to bolster energy storage alongside soaring solar panel install rates.

Darlington Point Solar Farm Battery

The Darlington Point Solar Farm commenced operations earlier this year so to have energy storage sitting alongside it will be a massive boon for everyone involved. According to Wikipedia the total output will be 333MW DC or 275MW AC, with Delta Energy having a PPA for 150MW.

Shell Energy and Edify Energy will work together over the next 10 years to build the 100MW battery – with Shell taking a half share of the Darlington Point battery, according to Greg Joiner, CEO of Shell.

“This long-term services agreement is a model for how large energy users can access dispatchable power like battery storage, which complements renewables, while contributing to a cleaner and more resilient power system,” Mr Joiner said.

Edify’s CEO John Cole was also understandably bullish about the situation:

“Energy storage is fast becoming a valued capacity solution for the National Electricity Market, given its fast and precise response,” Mr Cole said. “The uncertainties in this growing technology class are reducing and with it the barriers to acceptance from market and network participants.”

Energy and Environment Minister Matt Kean put out a press release discussing the battery and NSW’s solar future plans:

“The NSW government is the second-biggest energy customer in the state, and we are using our purchasing power to leverage new dispatchable capacity to help power our schools, hospitals, traffic lights and tunnels,” Mr Kean said.

“This battery will help to keep the lights on and keep costs down during peak energy periods, and support more renewable energy to come online.”

With commercial solar power going from strength to strength in 2021 it’s heartening to see large-scale energy storage solutions growing at a somewhat commensurate rate. Should help us cut down on the ‘what do you do when the sun’s not shining’ naysayers!

Click here to learn more about the Darlington Point Solar Farm from Edify’s website!

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Solar Battery Storage could rise 10x – AEMO

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The latest Electricity Statement of Opportunities by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) forecasts a potential 10x increase in solar battery storage uptake. The statement of operations is produced annually by AEMO and helps them plan for projected installation of solar panels, batteries, and their capacity as the technology increases and Australia continues its march towards our Renewable Energy Target for 2030.

Solar Battery Storage and the AEMO

Solar Battery Storage (source: AEMO/RenewEconomy)
Solar Battery Storage (source: AEMO/RenewEconomy)

AEMO’s 2017 Electricity Statement of Opportunities helps us project the next 10 years of energy generation and runs simulations for different scenarios (changes in solar battery technology or peak demand, for example). It’s worth reading the whole thing but here are some interesting tidbits we picked up around the place:

An interesting note that Renew Economy picked up on is that peak demand (with an average of around 3,700MW for the last ten years) was at its second lowest level since 2009 in 2017 – largely in thanks to the high numbers of rooftop solar systems installed throughout the country. Being able to manage peak demand means that infrastructure won’t be as expensive and we simply don’t need as much energy – so it’s a great result!

Cameron Parrotte, the boss of AEMO in Western Australia, discussed the situation and what it means for Aussies:

“While there have been recent retirements of some fossil-fueled generators, new renewable generation capacity is enabling the RCT to be met within the defined reliability standard, and with significantly lower excess capacity than historically recorded”

There’s also some great news for Western Australian solar power, where the grid includes a ‘capacity market’ – making it a bit different than the other states. The report projects that the current amount of live and committed generation resources will meet forecast peak demand in the state’s South West interconnected system (SWIS), despite around 400MW of coal, gas and diesel being replaced by approximately the same amount of rooftop solar, large-scale wind and large-scale solar. If you want to read more about the Wholesale Electricity Market in Western Australia please click here.

Some great news for Australia’s energy future. There’s no doubt that we’ll see more and higher capacity solar batteries installed in houses over the next ten years, let’s see how accurate those projections are!

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