The future of renewable energies depends largely on the capture and accumulation capacity of each system, which allows for permanent electricity during all seasons of the year and offers stability to the network. In this context, A company in Australia will invest in colossal batteries to accumulate the energy of its large solar park.
What is this new project in Australia to save accumulated energy about?
One of the challenges that renewable energy projects must face is the accumulation of unused energy to make it available at times of greatest demand. For this reason, two large companies have joined together in collaboration that want to solve this dilemma.
Therefore, the company Acen Renewables from Australia, owner of the largest photovoltaic park in the country of Oceania has signed an agreement with the Swiss firm Energy Vault specialized in gravity storage technologies.
In this way, the project foresees the construction of two batteries that will be located next to the New England solar park in New South Wales (NSW), near the city of Uralla. This project, which has not yet seen its completion, is ready in its first stage to begin storing energy.
Technical characteristics of the new project for renewable energies
The final project has the objective of reaching a capacity of 720 MV. However, the second stage is currently under development, which will soon provide an additional 320 MW and produce 1,800 gigawatt-hours of renewable energy per year.
The original idea of Acen Renewables in Australia was to build a 200 MV and 400 MV battery, but from the subsequent meetings with its supplier it was agreed that two installations would be made, one battery of 50 MW and 100 MWh and another of 150 MW and 300 MWh to optimize system efficiency.
It is important to keep in mind that the company based in Australia won a 20-year Long Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA) in the first renewable energy and storage auction awarded by the New South Wales government.
The contract offers the company guarantees regarding risk threats in the sector and protects the facilities with the lowest prices in the territory of Australia.
What is the gravity storage system based on?
The technology implemented by Energy Vault solves the problem of storing large amounts of renewable energy that is not used at the moment and needs to be preserved for times of greater demand.
Just as there are pumping systems, thermal power plants and countless batteries, this technology works from kinetic energy with an automated weight system. Through a crane, the excess energy is raised until it is necessary to use it.
The Acen Renewables project seeks to ensure that the batteries can be charged and discharged daily, and can conserve and distribute energy at times of greatest consumption to satisfy demand and to replace supply with fossil fuels.
To meet its objective, it will make battery storage units (BESS) available in Australia that will incorporate Siemmens S120 inverters that offer advanced network support functionalities in terms of voltage and frequency, during disturbances and reactive power control.
The project that begins this year will have its first stage ready by 2025ending completely by 2026. In this sense, the president and CEO of Energy Vault, Robert Piconi assured that his solution is perfect to provide a reliable and effective response to the client.
With these words, the general director of Acen Australia, David Pollington confirmed the choice of his firm for its prestigious track record and highlighted that Energy Vault’s battery technology will achieve rapid efficiency and impact for its customers. In this way, the agreement sets a successful precedent for the growth of renewable energies in the world.
