This will create about 5 MW (megawatt) of peak capacity power to help South Australia manage usage and deliver cheaper electricity. The project is meant to help customers manage their energy bills while at the same time contributing to the stability of the grid.
Advertisement
ARENA head Ivor Frischknecht said the government wanted to encourage others in the private sector to also consider how they could use renewable energy technology to deliver electricity “around-the-clock” in South Australia, where the intermittent nature of wind generation has underscored the volatility of wholesale power prices.
Energy storage systems not part of a VPP are unable to provide services to the grid or to benefit from the intelligent energy management provided by the grid.
“This project will demonstrate how solar batteries can be orchestrated to dispatch power into the grid at times of high demand”.
The first batteries will be installed at 150 Adelaide properties later this year.
For customers with sufficient excess solar generation, this is expected to result in a seven-year payback period.
DP Energy’s CEO, Simon De Pietro said that “South Australia stands out as an ideal investment destination for DP Energy”. Fortunately for residents of South Australia, one of the three states in the list, AGL launched the world’s biggest virtual power plant in the state. AGL has a diverse power generation portfolio including base, peaking and intermediate generation plants, spread across traditional thermal generation as well as renewable sources including hydro, wind, solar, landfill gas and biomass. Once fully commissioned, the Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park will generate approximately 1,000 gigawatt hours (GWh) of clean renewable energy directly into the national electricity grid per year, enough to power about 200,000 homes and save 470,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
Advertisement
Investors include AGL, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), Kokam, MITSUI & Co., Siemens Venture Capital, Softbank China Venture Capital (SBCVC), Total Energy Ventures International and VisIR.
