Huge Tesla battery in South Australia primed for big upgrade

The largest lithium-ion battery in the world – Tesla's big battery in South Australia – will undergo a 50 per cent expansion in a move its owners hope will increase the stability of the grid and reduce power bills.

French energy giant Neoen has announced plans to expand the capacity
 of the huge Tesla battery installed at the Hornsdale Power Reserve in
South Australia by 50 per cent.

Tech billionaire Elon Musk's Tesla built the huge battery in a remote area of South Australia in 2017. The battery system has the capacity of 100 megawatts and can store 129 megawatt-hours of energy from wind turbines nearby – enough to supply 30,000 homes for eight hours.

The battery system's capacity will now be increased to 150 megawatts under an expansion plan put forward by French energy giant Neoen, the owner of the site, with the support of Tesla and the state and federal governments.

Paired with the adjacent Hornsdale wind farm, Tesla's grid-scale battery, known as the Hornsdale Power Reserve, has helped reduce intermittency and manage increased demand during summer when the grid is under the most strain. In its first year of operation, it saved consumers more than $50 million, according to Neoen.

Read the story from The Sydney Morning Herald by Nick Toscano - “Huge Tesla battery in South Australia primed for big upgrade.”

‘Vital development': Market to pay big users to cut power gets green light

Australia's biggest electricity users will be able to get paid for reducing power demand during peak times, easing the load on the grid and potentially cutting "costs for everyone".

It's been a long time coming but a demand-side response
 market could be operating in the National Electricity Market by mid 2022.

The Australian Energy Market Commission will unveil on Thursday its draft decision to introduce a so-called demand response mechanism to operate in the east coast's wholesale electricity market.

The mechanism, first touted in the Parer review almost two decades ago, is scheduled to start in July 2022.

Read the story from The Age by Peter Hannam - “‘Vital development': Market to pay big users to cut power gets green light.”

(Again, we head down the wrong path as we continue using public money to benefit private enterprise. Rather than adhering to market solutions to what is a social problem, we should be looking at the issue through a different prism and settling on systemic changes that reduce and limit production which in turn would lower energy demands. Some have argued that our consumptive habits are not necessarily the trouble, rather it is the over-production in most every industry - Robert McLean)

Australia’s first large solar + storage plant connected to the grid

The first large-scale solar and big battery storage installation in Australia – the Lakeland project near Cooktown in far north Queensland – has been officially connected to the grid.

Australia's first large-scale solar/battery installation near
Cooktown in northern Queesnald officially connected to the grid.

The 10.8MW solar facility, combined with a 1.4MW/5.3MWh battery storage facility is located near the very edge of the grid and when first announced in 2016 was being pitched as a world-first for remote, edge of grid technology, and one that would trigger a host of similar projects across Australia.

The project had been due for completion nearly six months ago under its original timetable, but the complexity of the first-of-its-type project – for the developers, the local grid owner, and the market operator – pushed the timetable back.

It has been feeding into the grid since late November, but only recently completed its full sign off with Ergon, the local network operator, and the Australian Energy Market Operator.

Read the RenewEconomy story by Giles Parkinson - “Australia’s first large solar  + storage plant connected to the grid.” 

Here’s how a smart water grid could stop global warming

When we think about future energy systems, we usually think only of electricity. We imagine smart power grids that integrate and deliver electricity for different purposes, like powering household appliances and commercial buildings, or charging electric vehicles. What power grids cannot do is dramatically reduce the amount of energy wasted at the source. Here is where the power grid’s twin — the smart thermal water grid — comes into play.

By chanelling surplus heat to where it is needed,
we could limit temperature rises and energy
consumptionat a stroke.

By now, we all know that global warming is slowly boiling our planet. We also understand that it is caused by a long list of human activities, with our insatiable hunger for energy right at the top. Yet our current efforts to counter it are lagging behind the rising temperatures. Renewable energy sources are only part of the solution. The other part is greater energy efficiency. Our houses, shops and factories waste gigantic amounts of energy, often in the form of excess heat. How do we slash this waste? The answer is fairly simple: with a smart thermal water grid.

Read the story from the World Economic Forum - “Here’s how a smart water grid could stop global warming.”

Northern Victorian piggery taps into its manure for energy

A family-owned piggery in northern Victoria is about to unplug from the grid and rely on a $1 million biogas system for all its power.

Pigs manure is rich in nutrients and
 can be turned into bio-gas.

The biogas system is expected to save the business operators at Yarrawalla, 80 kilometres north of Bendigo, hundreds of thousands of dollars.

While other intensive animal farms and regional hospitals across the state face rising energy prices, the Kia Ora piggery will become self-sufficient in two months time.

One interstate research fellow who advises Australian Pork Limited has described the operator as a trail-blazer in the industry.

Read the ABC News story by Stephanie Corsetti and Erin Delahunty - “Northern Victorian piggery taps into its manure for energy.”