The Australian Government has announced the completion of a grid-scale battery at Dalrymple substation on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula.
The Dalrymple ESCRI ElectraNet 30 megawatt (MW) / 8 MWh grid-scale battery will improve energy reliability for 4,500 local households and businesses by working together with the existing 90 MW Wattle Point Wind Farm and rooftop solar photovoltaic panels to provide back-up power supply to the region.
In the event of a supply interruption from the electricity grid, the Dalrymple battery can provide 2-3 hours of electricity while connection to the grid is restored.
Local federal MP Rowan Ramsey said the Dalrymple battery would provide more reliable power for customers at the fringe of the South Australian grid.
“The Dalrymple battery is strategically located to instantly respond to the intermittency and variability of power generated from nearby wind farms at the tip of the Yorke Peninsula,” said Mr Ramsey, “its storage capacity will help keep the lights on in the event of a network issue further up the grid.”
At the time of commissioning, the battery was the first large-scale grid-connected battery to be designed, built and commercially operated in Australia largely with private investment from energy providers.
Through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), the Australian Government provided $12 million in funding toward the construction of the $30 million ElectraNet Energy Storage for Commercial Renewable Integration (ESCRI) project.
ARENA Acting CEO Nicola Morris said ESCRI will complement South Australia’s other batteries and reinforce Australia’s role as a leader in large-scale battery technology.
“We’re excited to see that the completion of the ESCRI battery has already helped inform the development of further battery projects around Australia,” she said.
ARENA has funded four grid-scale batteries, including two batteries recently commissioned in Western Victoria and Infigen’s Lake Bonney battery currently under construction in South Australia.