Editorial piece submitted by TasNetworks.
Energy storage is the current buzzword in the electrical industry.
For consumers, it allows people take control of their own energy usage. They can store excess solar to use later with batteries, purchase energy when it is cheap and use it when it is expensive, or back up their house when there is an outage. Not only that, if the electricity network uses their batteries for support, they can be part of the network solution, while getting even more value from their investment.
For electricity network providers like TasNetworks, energy storage provides unique opportunities. Although some customers may be buying batteries to disconnect from the network, many are staying connected. These grid-connected batteries could assist in reducing stress on the network during peak demand periods by discharging stored electricity when required.
Until now, there has not been enough batteries connected to the electricity network for TasNetworks to test this model. Furthermore, the batteries that are in use do not have an interface for network providers to connect to and request energy when the network is in demand.
These challenges will be put to the test in a new research project and field trial on Bruny Island.
The CONSORT Bruny Island Battery Trial will test the use of household owned batteries as a viable personal energy storage and network supplement solution.
The Trial includes researchers from The Australian National University, University of Sydney and University of Tasmania; TasNetworks and software provider Reposit Power.
TasNetworks Planning Engineer, Derek Jones said Bruny Island is currently supplied by undersea cables installed in 1949 and 1959.
"When the electricity load is high, usually on public holidays, these cables get overloaded.
TasNetworks currently manages this issue with diesel generation. The trial could replace up to 90% of diesel usage with energy storage", said Mr Jones.
The Trial consists of installing up to 40 battery systems in homes on Bruny Island in conjunction with rooftop solar generation and software to control the batteries and provide TasNetworks access when demand is high.
Up to 40 battery systems, subsidised by the Trial, will be installed in homes on Bruny Island in conjunction with rooftop solar generation and software to control the batteries and provide TasNetworks access when demand is high.
The focus of the university research teams is to determine a new decentralised control algorithm to integrate the batteries into the electricity network; define a fair way to reimburse participants for the electricity they provide while encouraging participants to respond in the right way; and find out how the participants feel about the battery technology and about helping to manage the network.
Reposit Power will provide the software platform used to control the batteries. This user‐centric platform aims to make the participant the highest return possible on their battery through storing excess solar, managing their time-of-use tariff and responding to network requests sent from TasNetworks.
This project received funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency as part of ARENA’s Research and Development Programme.
For more information on the Trial, visit the website.
Image: Bruny Island, iStock.
Image insert: info-graphic of the CONSORT Bruny Island Battery Trial, courtesy of TasNetworks.