SEPTEMBER 2015

THE GREAT ENERGY QUEST:

CASE STUDIES IN AUSTRALIAN ELECTRICITY STORAGE
CO N T E N T S

INTEGRATING NETWORK TARIFFS AND CUSTOMER OWNED 2

DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES

AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST BATTERY COMES TO BUNINYONG 3

iDEMAND 5

CENTRALISED ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM (CESS) 7

GRID ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM TRIAL 8

USING HOT WATER STORAGE TO ABSORB PV OUTPUT 9

MODELING POTENTIAL UPTAKE OF BATTERY STORAGE UNDER 11

DIFFERENT TARIFF SCENARIOS

ENERGY STORAGE FOR COMMERCIAL RENEWABLE

INTEGRATION (ESCRI) 12

RESIDENTIAL UTILITY SUPPORT SYSTEM (RUSS) 13

GRID ENERGY STORAGE FEASIBILITY AND 14

CONCEPT DESIGN STUDY

RESIDENTIAL BATTERY STORAGE TRIAL 15

AUSTRALIAN ENERGY STORAGE KNOWLEDGE BANK 16

GRID UTILITY SUPPORT SYSTEM (GUSS) 17

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INTRODUCTION
As long as there has been an Storage can also protect against errors in forecasting, remove
barriers to connecting renewable resources to a variety of
electrical grid, companies have sought grids, shifts demand peaks by storing off-peak energy, provides
ways to safely and efficiently store frequency regulation, and can delay expensive grid upgrades.
Making sure the right amount of energy is being distributed to
energy so that it can be consumed end-users is critical to our grid infrastructure - too much energy
on demand, output can be meticulously can wreak havoc on electronics, too little results in brownouts
and disruptions to service.
controlled, and the exact frequency
of the energy distributed can be Today, a wide array of storage technologies have been, or are
tightly regulated. in the process of being developed and deployed to ensure that
the grid can meet our everyday energy needs.

Energy storage has been identified as a significant tool for the ENA member companies are currently undertaking a
future of coordinated and reliable operation of utility grids. number of projects into the practical application of energy
This is due to storage having the potential to offer a number storage on their networks and are investigating how to
of valuable benefits and services to the energy supply optimise services from storage and support for domestic
industry, broader industry, and the electricity customers generation with storage. This document highlights a number
of case studies detailing some of the work currently being
Energy storage is particularly important for the integration of undertaken by Network businesses in integrating energy
distributed renewable generation technologies. storage with the grid.

With an increasing demand for renewable energy sources,

PV (photovoltaic) and wind turbines are taking on greater
roles in the global energy mix. Their inherently variable nature
brings additional technological challenges for managing the
grid – that must match power generation with demand for
optimal customer service at any time.

What’s more, these RES (Renewable Energy System)

installations are often in remote locations and subjected
to harsh temperatures and punishing humidity. Therefore,
energy storage that can help smooth the peaks and troughs
of renewable energy output is a vital element in the design of
electrical networks.

1
 INTEGRATING NETWORK TARIFFS AND CUSTOMER OWNED
DISTRIBUTED ENERGY RESOURCES

Project Name
Integrating Network Tariffs and
Customer Owned Distributed
Energy Resources

Member Company
Ergon RATIONALE
As energy storage enters the residential customer market, the ability for customers to
Funding
respond to different tariff signals no longer becomes a behavioural choice, but more
This project has to date been
a controlled ability to manage energy use and energy generation. This study looks to
funded by the Qld Government
determine how customers interact with different tariffs when provided with home energy
Department of Energy and
monitors, energy storage devices and in most cases, solar photovoltaic (PV) generation.
Water Supply. Ongoing funding
will be through the Demand
Management Innovation APPROACH
Allowance A series of steps are required to be undertaken to achieve the appropriate test space
and learnings from this project. These include:
Contact »» Undertaking a market survey of available battery energy storage systems (BESS) at a
Michelle Taylor – Manager residential scale – with the aim of selection of a range of systems;
Technology Development
[email protected] »» Lab testing to review how these systems may be programmed to operate under
different tariff arrangements;
Project Manager »» Identification of a suitable location and suitable customers willing to participate
Dean Condon – Technology (Townsville urban area);
Innovation Engineer »» Developing a data management process to review energy meter data as well as data
[email protected] streams from storage, PV and load for analysis;
»» Installation of the systems on site – Home Energy Management Systems (HEMS), BESS,
PV (existing on all sites) and electronic metering (existing on most sites); and
»» On-site testing of several tariff scenarios including time of use, critical peak pricing and
capacity or demand tariffs at intervals.

RESULTS
There are a significant number of residential battery energy storage systems (BESS)
available in Australia. Due to limited standards in this area, the quality of the systems was
found to be very variable and there were issues identified with compliance with existing
standards. A number of the suppliers did not have a good understanding of how the
BESS operated and had only considered how they responded to the shifting of renewable
energy to maximise PV energy.

The control systems for the BESS were also found to vary significantly, with little
consistency in how they operated. Most systems offered little more than solar shifting and
a basic time of use response function and only considered energy management to and
from the batteries, and not the actual household energy use.

The field trials are still ongoing, and in the locations where time of use is currently being
trialled, this has resulted in customers being able to respond more rapidly, reducing
peak load. Energy interested customers in the trial have also used their Home Energy
Management Systems (HEMS) to manage better their overall energy use.

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AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST BATTERY COMES TO BUNINYONG

THE GREAT ENERGY QUEST: CASE STUDIES IN AUSTRALIAN ELECTRICITY STORAGE

Manufacturing of battery pouches at Kokam’s factory in South Korea. There will be approximately
7,900 of these individual battery cells in our 2MW battery.

Project Name
Battery in Buninyong
RATIONALE
Member Company Energy storage both on a large scale and consumer level is attracting much attention,
Citipower/Powercor driven by a growing range of potential applications of the technology. Like many other
distribution businesses, Powercor have identified energy storage as a technology that is
Project Timeline increasingly becoming an important part of the evolving grid. Storage technology offers
The system will be the capability to reduce energy at risk, defer traditional network capex, provide voltage
commissioned in Q4 2015 - Q1 and frequency support and improve reliability.
2016, before commencing
operation in 2016. DESCRIPTION
Funding Powercor have installed a 2 megawatt battery storage system on a property in Buninyong,
The project is majority along one of the main powerlines that services 6,400 customers in the area. Equivalent to
funded by the AER’s Demand 20 percent of the current powerline’s capacity, the battery will increase the bandwidth of
Management Incentive Scheme the network on peak demand days.
with the remainder of funds Measuring 12.2 metres by 2.4 metres and 2.9 metres (a standard 40 foot shipping
provided by Powercor Australia container), the battery is capable of providing back-up power to approximately 3,000

ENA
Limited customers for an hour during a power outage.

Contact
APPROACH
Warrick Stapleton – Manager
Future Network Technologies An initial review by the project team looked at a range of storage technologies.
[email protected] Lithium-ion was chosen as the preferred medium as it offers a good range of power to
energy ratios, and it is an established technology with ongoing R&D focus and possesses
Avilyn Tan – External Affairs a growing track record. A range of reputable providers are available, including some with
and Communication AVtan@ multiple generations of containerised experience. Lithium-ion can also respond quickly to,
powercor.com.au as well as endure long duration dispatch.

LOCATION SELECTION:
The project team assessed the entire Powercor network and scoped out the business case
for integrating a large-scale battery into the Powercor network both at a zone substation
as well as distribution feeder level. The resulting analysis presented the team with several
scenarios that could be implemented to maximise the value of energy storage and
potential opportunities that could be realised. Buninyong was chosen as the site that
would provide us with maximum benefits for Powercor, its customers and network.

VENDOR SELECTION:
A project team was assembled to identify characteristics that were important to the
various divisions within the business. These were fed provided to vendors via an RFI and
RFP. S&C Electric was selected as system integrator with the battery supplied by Kokam.

3
 DECISION:
After considering all factors that were identified in the selection process, Powercor have
commenced works to install a 2 megawatt / 2 megawatt hour energy storage system
in Buninyong, south of Ballarat, along one of the main power lines that services 6,400
customers in the area.
The system will have islanding capability, thus providing the ability to keep customers on
supply in the event of a network outage.

RESULTS
Once operational the system will be scheduled in various modes of operation to assess
the capability to achieve the range of services and test the real world capability to benefit
the network and customers.

FIGURE 2 THREE BATTERY CONTAINERS, ONE OF WHICH IS BEING FIT OUT FOR
POWERCOR’S 2MW BATTERY.

FIGURE 3 KOKAM’S MANUFACTURING FACILITY. THE POWERCOR BATTERY WILL BE USING POLYMER
POUCHES AND NOT THE STANDARD ALUMINIUM POUCHES, WHICH WILL ALLOW FOR
HIGHER ENERGY DENSITY.

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iDEMAND

THE GREAT ENERGY QUEST: CASE STUDIES IN AUSTRALIAN ELECTRICITY STORAGE

Project Name
iDemand

Member Company
TransGrid

Project Timeline
Commencement: 2013
Completion: November 2014

Funding
This project was funded from
a demand management
allowance under the approved
2009-14 Revenue Determination
by the Australian Energy
Regulator.
RATIONALE
iDemand is a pilot project aimed at facilitating demand management related research in
Contact Australia and to engage consumers on demand management.
Garrie Chubb– Investment
Support Manager APPROACH
[email protected]
TransGrid planned and implemented a hybrid demand management system
Project planning: incorporating both embedded generation and storage at its western Sydney site. The
Nahaz Chowdhury– Research iDemand system consists of a 400kWh Lithium polymer battery, 53 kW of polycrystalline

ENA
Officer–Asset Management silicon and 45kW of thin film cadmium telluride solar panels, energy efficient lighting, with
Nahaz.Chowdhury@transgrid. a web portal that updates key system output data every 5 seconds. The TransGrid site
com.au chosen is a good representation of a medium scale commercial customer, having annual
site load of around 900MWh, and highest recorded peak demand of 280kW. The system
Website was designed with a target peak demand reduction on site of up to 50%.
The website has five tabs, with
the “Live Monitor” (below) RESULTS
providing key power output/
consumption data, “Downloads” Since the projects launch in November 2014, TransGrid has received six research proposals
providing downloadable on topics such as real time battery dispatch algorithm to minimise peak demand, and
spreadsheets, with other site battery degradation modelling. It is expected that some of the research conducted
related information and pictures will result in better understanding of how to integrate batteries as part of a demand
also available. http://idemand. management solution. The iDemand website has been a drawcard for researchers as
transgrid.com.au/LiveMonitor the website allows free access to data since November 2014 for solar generation battery
dispatch, site load, weather and lighting load at one minute intervals. The peak demand
on site has been reduced by more than two-thirds when batteries are dispatched
simultaneously with the solar panels generating at capacity.

Ten site visits have been conducted since launch, with interested stakeholders including
retailers, utilities and an ambassador to a South-East Asian country. Most of the
stakeholders were looking to learn from the experiences of a battery or hybrid renewable
site in action, with some no doubt considering implementation of battery storage.

5
 TransGrid itself is developing an understanding on how to maintain large scale batteries,
with ongoing learnings being fed into a recently proposed battery project, which is
currently being scoped. It is expected that battery storage will play a role in successful
implementation of demand management in near future, aided by widespread uptake of
battery technology as their price per kWh of capacity continues to decline. The project
was a finalist in the Innovation Award category for the Australian Clean Energy Summit
2015 run by the Clean Energy Council.

FIGURE 2 WALLGROVE SITE WITH THE 98.4 KW OF SOLAR PANELS

FIGURE 3 400KWH, 100KW LITHIUM POLYMER IDEMAND BATTERIES

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CENTRALISED ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM (CESS)

THE GREAT ENERGY QUEST: CASE STUDIES IN AUSTRALIAN ELECTRICITY STORAGE

Project Name
Centralised Energy Storage
System (CESS) RATIONALE

Member Company The establishment of larger energy storage systems offer opportunities across various
Ergon parts of the Ergon Energy network. Generally these opportunities are variable, based on
the network topology and the customer loads. Centralised Energy Storage System (CESS)
will develop a platform for the development of a variety of control methodologies to
Project Timeline
respond to various needs from the Ergon Energy network – this includes energy storage
Commencement: late 2014
opportunities both for the network and for our isolated power system networks.
Estimated Completion: 2016

Funding APPROACH
This project was funded from Energex provided Ergon Energy with 200kWh of energy storage to enable the
Ergon Energy budgets and development of a CESS platform.
DMIA. Energex is a partner in
The first stage of this project, which is currently underway, is to build a system platform
this project and has provided
that is capable of being configured for a variety of applications. Upon completion of the
materials to the project
platform, various control and interconnection concepts will be trialled on the system,
interlinking with the network for grid support, or renewable energy management, or with
Contact
diesel generation systems for renewable energy management and reduced diesel run.
Michelle Taylor – Manager
Technology Development
[email protected] RESULTS
There are many containerised systems that already exist and come with a list of
Project Manager:
functionalities. Based on Ergon’s experiences with many of the smaller systems, the way
Alan Louis – Senior Engineer
in which they are controlled and managed is by propriatry systems. These systems run as

ENA
Distributed Energy - Technology
master controllers and are not easy to integrate into the various systems that exist across
Development
Ergon’s network.
[email protected]
The outcomes of this project are still to be determined as it is still in the development and
implantation phase.

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 GRID ENERGY STORAGE SYSTEM TRIAL

Project Name
Grid Energy Storage System Trial
Grid Energy Storage System Installation
Member Company
AusNet Services
RATIONALE
Location AusNet Services initiated a project to trial the Grid Energy Storage System (GESS) in 2012
Thomastown, VIC to explore the potential of using a large battery storage system embedded within the
network to manage network peak demand, improve power quality, provide islanded
Project Timeline supply to local network customers, and defer network upgrades. The GESS is an innovative
Commenced 2012 non-network solution that is designed so that it can be readily relocated in order to
Completion - ongoing maximise the flexibility of its deployment.

Funding PROJECT DESCRIPTION

AusNet Services, part under
DMIA The GESS system is a large (1 MW / 1MWh) battery system plus smart inverter that is
connected to an urban 22kV distribution feeder in Thomastown, Melbourne. The battery
Application system provides network support by supplying power locally at peak demand times and
Network peak demand recharging during low demand periods. The system also includes a 1MW diesel generator
management, power quality and set that extends the rating of the battery system to provide full coverage during the peak
islanded supply demand period. This has been undertaken in order to keep the costs of the entire storage
solution down. The generator also acts to supply sufficient fault current to maintain
Suppliers protection system coverage during operation in islanded mode. The facility has been fully
ABB, Samsung, Cummins integrated into AusNet Services’ SCADA system, thereby allowing network operator’s day
to day control of the system.
Contact
Justin Harding, Distributed APPROACH
Energy & Innovation Manager The main aims of the project include:
justin.harding@ausnetservices.
com.au »» To improve customer service, by ensuring fewer and shorter interruptions and voltage
sags will be experienced by customers;
»» To mitigate value of customer reliability (VCR) risks;
»» To manage peak demand so as to defer capital expenditure for augmentation of the
22 kV distribution network; and,
»» To gain knowledge in the use of inverter-based supply systems for an islanded
network.

RESULTS
During the summer of 2014-15, the GESS was put through a number of performance trials
including local peak lopping, power factor correction and voltage droop functions while
in grid connected mode. These trials successfully proved the performance of the system
in real-world conditions, whilst also building the understanding of these systems with the
grid network operators and planners. A further trial plan has been planned for the 2015-16
summer period around power quality support, feeder demand management and working
in island mode.

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USING HOT WATER STORAGE TO ABSORB PV OUTPUT

THE GREAT ENERGY QUEST: CASE STUDIES IN AUSTRALIAN ELECTRICITY STORAGE

Project Name
Controlled Load Electric Storage
Hot Water Systems Can Absorb
PV Output

Member Company
Energex

Project Timeline
Completed: April 2015

Project Application
Network Utilisation RATIONALE
The large penetration of residential solar (over 283,500 photovoltaic (PV) systems) on the
Funding
Energex network has created a new ‘off peak’ time in the middle of the day. In some cases
This project was funded from
distribution feeders are acting as generators over this period. This is causing problems in
internal Energex budgets
the static LV network. These fluctuations have created power quality issues and in some
cases inverters of small scale solar systems have been forced to shut down when voltage
Contact
levels have become unacceptably high.
Steven Humphries, Principal
Engineer Load Management
stevenhumphries@energex. DESCRIPTION
com.au A dynamic switching program of control load electric storage hot water systems was
implemented to determine the ability of these systems to absorb some of the output
from solar PV. This was undertaken to:

ENA
»» make it easier for static LV networks to operate within agreed supply standards; and
»» harness the full potential of customers’ solar energy.
APPROACH
A Demand Control Event was held on 22nd April 2015 to 24th April 2015 for the Arana
Hills zone substation. Arana Hills zone substation has one of the highest penetrations
(6,000 customers) of residential control load of electric storage hot water systems within
the Energex network. It also has 3,284 customers with 11,018 kW (total) of solar PV
installed.

During this event, an alternative switching program for control load electric hot water
systems was undertaken. For each of the two control event days, the electric hot
water systems were turned off in the morning and load gradually returned during the
day (through the residential peak). Power Quality Monitoring was fitted at the Power
Transformer and selected Distribution Transformers and was programmed to remotely
collect one minute interval data. The interval data collected was housed in a SQL
Database, which was queried to provide the dataset for the data analysis.

The load profile from the Demand Control Event 24th April 2015 was day matched to
the 22nd April 2015 (both with similar weather conditions) to determine the effect of the
alternative switching program.

9
 RESULTS
The results of this project demonstrate the benefits of using controlled loads such as
electric storage hot water systems to absorb the output from solar PV. The alternative
switching program enabled electric storage hot water controlled load, to clip the morning
peak and fill the ‘trough’ during the middle of the day. Network utilisation was improved
and customer inverters were able to continue to feed into the network maintaining
customer feed-in-tariff earnings. There was no impact on availability of hot water for
customers.

FIGURE 1 COMPARISON OF TRADITIONAL SWITCHING DAY TO DYNAMIC SWITCHING

ON DEMAND CONTROL EVENT DAY

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MODELING POTENTIAL UPTAKE OF BATTERY STORAGE UNDER
DIFFERENT TARIFF SCENARIOS

RATIONALE

THE GREAT ENERGY QUEST: CASE STUDIES IN AUSTRALIAN ELECTRICITY STORAGE

During 2014, the first commercially available packaged residential battery energy storage
systems (BESS) started to appear on the market. This study was to determine the potential
uptake of further increases in photovoltaic (PV) systems and BESS given various possible
future tariff scenarios for Ergon Energy residential customers.

APPROACH
Project Name This project was the third phase of a series of modelling studies done by CSIRO, based
Effective Market Reform CSIRO on census data from Townsville and other sophisticated models CSIRO have developed.
Tariff and DER Uptake Modelling Five different tariff structures were tested and eight different PV and battery options
were considered as part of this project. High resolution spatial and temporal data were
Member Company used to project electric vehicle (EV), PV and then BESS uptake across the Townsville local
Ergon government area.

Project Timeline RESULTS

Commencement: 2013
Completion: May 2014 The outcomes of this project suggested that of the various tariff scenarios considered, the
existing tariff structures were the most likely to spur the uptake of BESS. Therefore based
Funding on that scenario, the maximum uptake would result in approximately 5.4% of customers
This project was funded from in Townsville investing in a BESS by 2025.
Ergon Energy budgets and the
The lowest uptake of BESS was identified under the flat rate tariff with a seasonal peak
work provided by CSIRO.
demand price. Under this scenario, in 2025 the uptake of solar and BESS will result in a net
electricity consumption reduction of 16% compared to 2013 electricity use.
Contact
Michelle Taylor – Manager PV generation in 2025 is expected to be between 170% and 210% of the levels in 2013
Technology Development dependent on the tariff scenarios.
[email protected]

Project Manager FIGURE 1 POTENTIAL UPTAKE OF FURTHER PV SYSTEMS AND

Stephen Garner –Research BESS GIVEN VARIOUS TARIFF SCENARIOS
Analyst - Technology
Development

ENA
[email protected]

11
 ENERGY STORAGE FOR COMMERCIAL RENEWABLE
INTEGRATION (ESCRI)

RATIONALE
South Australia has one of the highest penetrations of renewable energy on an
interconnected system in the world, with the majority of this generation from wind
and solar, which is intermittent. Such high penetration of renewables requires careful
integration within the network to ensure stable and reliable power is delivered to
consumers under all conditions.

The Energy Storage for Commercial Renewable Integration (ESCRI) project is currently
Project Name exploring the role of utility scale non-hydro storage in South Australia’s transmission
Energy Storage for Commercial network in the 5-30MW range, particularly to assist in this renewable integration area.
Renewable Integration (ESCRI)
The project, which is in two Phases, is partly funded by the Australian Renewable Energy
Member Company Agency (ARENA) and is being performed by a consortium consisting of AGL, ElectraNet
ElectraNet and WorleyParsons (the Consortium). In Phase 1 of the project, the Consortium has
concentrated on the business case of developing such a storage asset, and the associated
Project Timeline issues that surround such assets. In Phase 2, which will depend on the outcomes of
TBD Phase 1, it is hoped to build, test and trial such an asset at utility scale.

Project Application DESCRIPTION

Time Shifting of renewable The ESCRI project is the first project of this type to examine the value of energy storage
energy generated, reduction across three broad areas: the time-shifting of renewable energy generated, the network
of expected unserved energy value to the transmission system as well as the ancillary service value that could be
to consumers and technology provided to the South Australian electricity system. The project is also considering
demonstration the technical, commercial and regulatory issues involved with energy storage system
deployment within the NEM.
Funding
ARENA, AGL, ElectraNet and
APPROACH
WorsleyParsons
This project is evaluating the potential of an energy storage asset to take advantage of
Contact energy from the significant overnight generation at AGL’s South Australian wind farms.
[email protected] ElectraNet is addressing how the proposed storage system would interact with the
electricity network while WorleyParsons are leading the technology selection and asset
modelling components of this project, along with developing functional and technical
specifications, timeline and costs estimates.

Due to the variety of potential benefits, novelty of the approach and maturity of the
technology, the Consortium had to work iteratively addressing the following aspects:
»» Site Selection;
»» Regulatory Framework;
»» Commercial Framework;
»» Technology and Functional Specification; and
»» Procurement and Costs

RESULTS
The Consortium issued a Request for Information to 42 proponents to gather information
on the technical capability and estimated cost of utility scale storage. 16 responses were
received from local and international companies/consortia and 8 proponents have been
shortlisted for consideration.

The ESCRI project is in the process of concluding the Phase 1 results into a final report, which
will consolidate all of the outcomes to date and detail the business case for the potential
commencement of Phase 2. At this stage the exact location, size and business case metrics
for that Phase 2 are still being developed. The Phase 1 project will be concluded by the end
of 2015, with industry knowledge sharing being a key deliverable. It is currently anticipated
that if approved, Phase 2 would likely commence in early to mid 2016.

12
RESIDENTIAL UTILITY SUPPORT SYSTEM (RUSS)

THE GREAT ENERGY QUEST: CASE STUDIES IN AUSTRALIAN ELECTRICITY STORAGE

Project Name
Residential Utility Support
System (RUSS)

Member Company
Ergon

Project Timeline
Commencement: 2011
Completion: December 2013

Funding RATIONALE
This project was funded from
Ergon Energy’s budgets as This project trialled 10 advanced “smart-network enabled” lithium-ion battery storage
part of the Energy Sense systems within an urban network in Townsville. These trials were designed to demonstrate
Communities program of work. the effectiveness of VAR-controlled energy storage systems in reducing peak demand,
improving supply reliability and quality and maintain network voltage regulation,
Contact particularly in locations with high concentrations of Distributed Energy Resources (DERs).
Michelle Taylor – Manager
Technology Development APPROACH
[email protected]
Ten 6kVA, 20kWh Residential Utility Support System (RUSS) units were designed and
fabricated to Ergon Energy’s requirements for installation at homes with existing solar
Project Manager
photovoltaic (PV) systems, all within one distribution area. The units were operated in time
Mike Wishart –Principal

ENA
scheduled control, injecting and absorbing fixed levels of real power; charging during
Engineer - Technology
off-peak periods and discharging at peak times. Reactive power was controlled via a four
quadrant control algorithm.

RESULTS
The product of this project was specifically developed at a time when there were very
few residential battery energy storage systems (BESS) available on the market. The control
system was designed to meet Ergon Energy’s specific requirements. The four quadrant
VAR control worked well to manage customer PV voltage rise and peak load voltage drop,
improving customer voltages by up to 12V.

The trial also demonstrated that battery failures provided significant insight into the
challenges of new lithium-ion battery technologies. Time scheduled peak management
were shown to have limited success at the distribution level, with smaller customer
numbers, the diversity at a distribution level resulted in the distribution level peak being
far more variable than the overall network peak. Despite continuous monitoring of
distribution loads and significant storage, time scheduling of peaks for battery discharge
resulted in relatively poor coincidence.

The coverage of the peak was 38% at the LV level, despite best efforts to tune the
schedules. It was recommended that more sophisticated controls should be investigated
and deployed to provide full coverage of the peaks and ensure the greatest benefit of the
battery systems could be obtained.

13
 GRID ENERGY STORAGE FEASIBILITY AND
CONCEPT DESIGN STUDY

RATIONALE
Jemena Electricity Networks (JEN) is currently developing its capabilities in the area of
utility-scale energy storage, with particular focus on its application to mitigating peak
demand network constraints and improving the quality of electricity supply. Jemena have
undertaken a feasibility and concept design study to evaluate the technical characteristics
of grid storage, its impact on the distribution network, protection and control issues as
well as its cost / financial considerations.

There are two important outcomes of this effort – (i) the preparation of a preliminary
Project Name scope of work and concept design for a future field trial of a grid energy storage system,
Grid Energy Storage Feasibility and (ii) development of a framework for the planning assessment of grid energy storage
and Concept Design Study as a demand management alternative to manage network constraints.

Member Company
DESCRIPTION
Jemena This project has been jointly undertaken by Jemena and a consulting company and is
being funded under the AER’s Demand Management Innovation Allowance.
Project Timeline
Commenced June 2015 The project commenced in June 2015 and is expected to be completed by October
Expected completion October 2015. JEN is also planning to undertake a field trial of energy storage systems within its
2015 distribution network. However, this field trial is only likely to happen after 2015, pending
regulatory approval of proposed innovation funding, so the present feasibility study is not
Project Application directly connected to the next stage field trial.
Network Utilisation
The feasibility and concept design study will determine the applications, technologies,
sizes, types and locations of possible energy storage systems to overcome capacity
Funding
constraints in a selected section of Jemena’s network. All solutions must be compliant
Jemena
with power quality and protection requirements, while maximizing customer benefits.
Contact The aim of the study is to assess grid energy storage as a possible means to defer or avoid
For details and progress of larger capital expenditure in the three constraint network areas: sub-transmission, zone-
the project, contact Aditya substation and HV feeders. While renewable penetration is one of the parameters to be
Upadhye, Senior Engineer considered in the scenarios, it is not the primary focus of this study.
Demand Management (Aditya.
[email protected] ) or APPROACH
Peter Wong, Manager Network
Technology & Measurement Jemena has taken a collaborative approach on this project with the Consultant, where
([email protected] ). Jemena’s knowledge on grid side issues and network considerations is combined with the
Consultant’s expertise on delivering energy storage design and engineering solutions.

The project team want to investigate the conditions under which they can optimize the
delivery of energy storage to maximize network value and minimize cost. As an example,
if there is a capacity constraint at a zone sub-station and accompanying HV feeder(s) are
experiencing power quality issues, the team want to identify the optimal solution that
is able to mitigate both problems for the near and long term. This could mean installing
distributed energy storage systems at multiple locations with coordinated control, as
opposed to a large installation at one location.

RESULTS
Once operational, the results of the project will assist in determining the applications,
technologies, sizes, types and locations of possible energy storage systems to overcome
capacity constraints in a selected grid section.

14
RESIDENTIAL BATTERY STORAGE TRIAL

RATIONALE

THE GREAT ENERGY QUEST: CASE STUDIES IN AUSTRALIAN ELECTRICITY STORAGE

In 2012, AusNet Services’ initiated a project to
investigate and trial the capability of battery and
inverter systems connected to consumer homes,
to reduce residential peak demand and reduce the
technical network impacts of high penetrations of
solar PV. The project also tested the battery systems
capability of shifting customer demand from peak
to off-peak times by discharging whenever the
customer’s instantaneous demand is high, and
by re-charging overnight when the customer’s
Project Name
demand is low, or recharging using excess solar
Residential Battery Storage Trial
generation. The Residential Storage project was
identified as having potential benefits to both
Member Company
AusNet Services and the end customer.
AusNet Services Residential battery storage cubicle with solar
PROJECT DESCRIPTION inverter in the foreground
Location
Melbourne, VIC The project delivered an integrated residential storage solution to ten customers
comprising of:
Project Timeline
Commenced 2012 »» batteries (6.6kWh lithium-ion);
Completion - September 2015 »» an inverter/charger (3kW peak);
for first phase.
»» programmable energy management systems; and
Funding »» a communication system.
AusNet Services, part under
DMIA The storage systems were installed in combination with solar PV (either 1.2kWp or 3kWp).
All of the battery systems had internet connectivity to enable remote changes to system
Application settings, retrieval of data and manual control of system operation.
Network and customer peak
demand management, solar PV APPROACH
uptake The main aims of the trial were to:

ENA
Suppliers »» Ascertain whether local residential storage can be used to flatten the network
MPower demand profile;
»» Ascertain whether Solar PV / Storage combinations can be used to manage peak
Contact demand;
Justin Harding, Distributed
Energy & Innovation Manager »» Provide information on the potential effect of controlled/uncontrolled charging of
justin.harding@ausnetservices. electric vehicles;
com.au »» Provide information on the economic viability view of distributed storage as a means
to manage peak demand and defer network asset investment; and
»» Investigate the behaviour of residential storage alongside solar PV and its contribution
to network voltage management.
RESULTS
The residential battery systems were installed during the summer of 2013-14 and
operated in a “peak lopping mode”. Data gathered during the summer of 2013/2014 was
analysed and lead to the identification and development of several improvements in the
functional operation of the systems for the 2014-15 summer. Some of these functional
improvements included; maximising network demand reduction, minimising solar
exports and maximising customer benefits.

The results to date indicate that residential storage can be controlled in such a way as to
generate significant benefits to both the network and the customer, but that further cost
reductions in battery system products will be required in order to become an economic
demand management solution.

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 AUSTRALIAN ENERGY STORAGE KNOWLEDGE BANK

Project Name
Australian Energy Storage
RATIONALE
Knowledge Bank
With the increasing number and types of Energy Storage System technologies and their
Member Company applications, this project will produce a mobile testing environment to further develop
SA PowerNetworks these technologies and to understand their use in Australian conditions. The project will
create a knowledge base for industry and system developers whilst also providing for
Project Timeline advanced training facilities for researchers, utilities and technology developers on an
Completion due in 2017 operational system.

Project Application DESCRIPTION

System testing and Knowledge
The mobile testing platform will comprise a mobile testing unit approximately similar
sharing
in size to a shipping container with 200KW inverter, associated control equipment and
network protection and SCADA interface. This will include a Labview installation to
Funding
provide comprehensive monitoring of the performance of both the inverter and any
This project is being led the
associated battery systems. This data will be made available as part of the Knowledge
University of Adelaide with the
Bank.
syndicate comprising SA Power
Networks, Solar Storage, ZEN
A second container will be deployed which houses the selected battery bank immediately
Energy Systems and Power and
adjacent the testing platform with suitable interconnections to the testing platform.
Drive Solutions, with further
funding support from the South
Initially this unit will be deployed within the SA Power Networks distribution system, it
Australian Government and the
will be relocated interstate to test different conditions and network operations. As part of
Energy Networks Association.
the project, the unit will also operate within the testing environment at the University of
In addition this project has
Adelaide’s Thebarton precinct as well as on a larger commercial customer’s premises.
attracted ARENA funding of $1.4
million to support the project.
The system will be deployed on the distribution network to trial its performance when
operating to provide peak shaving, voltage management and micro grid applications.
Contact
Stephen Webb, Smart Grid
Projects Manager APPROACH
stephen.webb@ The project is in the initial design stage with industry consultation and peer review in
sapowernetworks.com.au progress.

Expected availability of the system for initial field trials is Q3 2016 where it will be
deployed on a 11KV feeder after extensive testing at the Thebarton precinct. Subject to
final design it is intended that this unit may also be suitable for deployment within the
SWER network during the 2017.

RESULTS
No results have yet been gathered as the project is still in the design and implementation
phase.

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GRID UTILITY SUPPORT SYSTEM (GUSS)

THE GREAT ENERGY QUEST: CASE STUDIES IN AUSTRALIAN ELECTRICITY STORAGE

RATIONALE
Project Name Ergon Energy’s Single Wire Earth Return (SWER) network is expansive and costly to
Grid Utility Support System upgrade, with very few customers able to support the high cost of network upgrades.
(GUSS) Whilst peak loads on most of Ergon’s SWER networks are problematic, they only occur for
short periods of the day.
Member Company
Ergon Despite the relatively high cost of energy storage, the application of energy storage locally
to support SWER networks through times of peak loading can be cost effective, as well as
Project Timeline providing easily and quickly deployable solutions. The Grid Utility Support System (GUSS)
Commencement: Current phase has been developed by Ergon Energy as a single phase 25kW/100kWh energy storage
of deployment commenced in system with integration capability specifically to meet the challenging needs of Ergon’s
August 2014 rural and remote SWER networks.

Expected Completion APPROACH

Deployment will be complete by
Ergon Energy is currently in the process of deploying 20 commercially made GUSS units.
June 2016
These units were developed after a long research and development process to find
suitable solutions. This included:
Funding
This project has been funded »» Development of concept and functional specifications;
from Ergon Energy Network »» Trials of prototype units as a collaborative arrangement with Magellan Power Systems;
Investment Operating and »» Development of control and network interface protocols specifically to suit SWER
Capital budgets, as well as DMIA applications;
in the past.
»» Development of internal business cases to determine costs and identify potential sites

ENA
where GUSS would provide best value benefit;
Contact
Michelle Taylor – Manager »» Testing the market for provision of products, resulting in a supply contract with S&C
Technology Development Electric; and
[email protected] »» Deployment process throughout Queensland consisting of:
–– Installation;
Project Manager –– Development of new work methods;
Stephen Richardson – –– New design methods; and
Technology Innovation Engineer –– New training material and skill sets within Ergon Energy.
stephen.richardson@ergon.
com.au RESULTS
The product trialled for this project has proven highly successful. GUSS is able to resolve
short term capacity issues on SWER networks. Subsequently, numerous SWERs on Ergon’s
network have been identified as being able to benefit from GUSS. A commercially
developed product has now been delivered, and is in the process of being rolled out
across the network.

Other key outcomes of this project have included:

»» Learnings around deployment of energy storage across an electrical storage network;
»» Development of smart control algorithms to best manage power and use of battery
resources;
»» Development of new standards; and
»» Development of new methods of management for SWER networks.

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 “TODAY, A WIDE ARRAY OF
STORAGE TECHNOLOGIES
HAVE BEEN, OR ARE IN
THE PROCESS OF BEING
DEVELOPED AND DEPLOYED
TO ENSURE THAT THE GRID
CAN MEET OUR EVERYDAY
ENERGY NEEDS.”

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ENA THE GREAT ENERGY QUEST: CASE STUDIES IN AUSTRALIAN ELECTRICITY STORAGE
 FURTHER INFORMATION
E: [email protected]
P: (+61) (0) 2 6272 1555

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