Public services such as electric power are the second biggest blackmail target among global industry sectors.

Every day, data informs the decision-making processes of power sector companies around the world. Collecting, storing, and effectively using data is vital at both individual system and network level.

However, it isn’t just utilities, power generation companies and other legitimate enterprises that are aware of this. Criminals are too, and there is no better – or perhaps worse – example of data protection risk than the risk of a ransomware attack.

More specifically, public services such as electric power are the world’s second most-targeted industry sector by blackmailers.

The average cost of a data breach in the energy industry is US$6.39 million for a single incident, according to research published in 2020 by IBM. Authorities are waking up to the threat.

Gartner forecasts that 75% of all enterprises will have faced ransomware attacks of some kind by 2025. The consultancy says nearly a third of all countries in the world will pass legislation concerning ransomware by that time.

That may be a positive step forwards, but bear in mind that as of last year, 2021, less than 1% of countries had such legislation in place, dealing with legal penalties for ransomware attacks and other aspects like how to negotiate out of them.

As well as the economic cost, which should not be understated, breaching energy companies’ operational data networks can also present severe safety and security risks.

“In recent years, ransomware attacks against the power industry have increased rapidly. Once controlled by attackers, it will cause business interruptions in the power system, economic losses, and even serious security incidents,” says Michael Fan, Director of Data Storage Solution Sales at Huawei.

It can also make companies liable if customer information is stolen or leaked, while of course, it can endanger the stable operation of grids or other infrastructure, posing risks to continuity and quality of energy supply.

In an investigation conducted this year into data breaches across electric power and adjacent sectors, telecoms company Verizon found that many energy enterprises are quite conservative in their approach to adopting new technologies.

That means they are often only weakly protected, if at all, but at the same time are high-value targets for would-be ransomware attackers. The frequency of website application attacks and system intrusion attacks on electric power companies is rising rapidly, faster than in any other industry, Verizon found.

“Huawei launched a ransomware protection storage solution for the power industry to build the ultimate protection for power business data security,” Michael explains.

What to do?

There are several types of ransomware attacks. From long-term extortion of large enterprises and key government infrastructure to criminal enterprises marketed to one another as “ransomware-as-a-service,” all the way to sophisticated and persistent cyberattacks classified as Advanced Persistent Threats (APT).

Whatever the nature of the threat, simply paying the attackers their demanded ransom or cooperating with blackmail is not a smart way to end a ransomware situation.

Cyber economy research group Cybersecurity Ventures found that not only are attacks happening somewhere in the world every few seconds, but of those that paid ransoms, 80% were extorted a second time.

Meanwhile, almost half of the companies extorted don’t get back all or even any of the data stolen, even if they pay or meet other demands. Not to forget that even after the ransom is paid, by then the average downtime will already have been 16 days of lost productivity, and recovery is slow due to server performance being affected.

Four-layered protection to keep data safe and confidential

Fortunately, there is an answer. With decades of R&D experience in the ICT field, Huawei has more than 70 cybersecurity certificates and 35 AEO certificates in 28 different regions and countries.

Huawei Electric Power Industry Ransomware Protection Storage Solution is tailored to the power industry’s needs, protecting against ransomware attacks and other data breaches.

The solution has been launched for the electric power industry after its successful application in the financial and chemical industries.

With industry-leading data recovery speeds and a 99.9% ransomware identification rate, Huawei offers the most comprehensive ransomware protection storage solutions around, based on four ‘layers’ of protection technology.

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From primary storage to backup, Huawei’s Ransomware Protection Storage Solution provides four layers of protection, better securing the data assets of electric power companies.

These layers identify and intercept ransomware, while securely snapshotting and backing up valuable data, and creating an isolation zone for affected areas of the network.

Secure snapshots mean recovery is possible within seconds, while Huawei’s backup storage enables 172TB/hour recovery, 5x faster than competitor products. End-to-end encryption prevents hackers from accessing confidential data when they break into the storage network, thus minimising the harm of data leaks.

Layer 1 detects, analyses and intercepts incoming ransomware viruses as it creates a production storage Air Gap: keeping sensitive data copied, offline and therefore inaccessible to attackers. On detecting and intercepting attacks, it takes proactive measures to isolate and prevent ransomware spreading and ensures stored data copies are uninfected.

Layer 2 uses the secured snapshots on the production storage to recover data within seconds. A write once read many (WORM) file system can set data protection cycles on both production and backup storage. That prevents arbitrary modification and deletion of data during the protection period.   

Layer 3 sees production storage and backup storage copied to a separately established physical isolation area, using Huawei’s Air Gap technology. A copy of this isolated area can be used for data recovery purposes if both production and backup storage are found to be breached. This is kept offline during key points in the process, making it impossible for a ransomware attacker’s hack into the production network to penetrate the secured isolation zone.

Layer 4 ensures confidential data remains confidential, with secure encryption of protocols, production storage, backup storage, Air Gap replication links and more.

Huawei’s OceanProtect Data Protection and OceanStor Dorado high-end and high-reliability all-flash storage system together give you the industry’s most comprehensive protection based on accurate detection and fast data recovery.

Huawei was named a Leader in the Gartner Magic Quadrant for Primary Storage for the seventh consecutive year since 2016 for its product OceanStor Storage.

Currently, multiple enterprises around the world have selected Huawei’s anti-ransomware protection solution and achieved zero data tampering and deletion. The storage recovery performance has improved fivefold, unified management of production and backup storage and facilitates O&M and reduces TCO by 30%.

Don’t let your company become another ransomware statistic. Don’t risk losing customers’ trust by taking chances on data security and letting the bad guys in.

Learn more about how Huawei Electric Power Industry Ransomware Protection Storage Solution ensures data security.

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A new study commissioned by the American Clean Power Association (ACP) has found that additional renewable capacity will lower energy market prices and provide significant cost savings for consumers in New England states. Conducted by Daymark Energy Advisors, the study analyzed the market and environmental benefits of 1,200 MW of incremental land-based renewable capacity for the New England region.

The new study focused on clean energy resources sited in northern Maine, which is the location of most proposed large-scale, land-based renewable projects in the region. Although the modeled projects are located in Maine, the ISO New England (ISO-NE) market is operated and dispatched as an integrated system, and as a result, the wholesale price reduction benefits will accrue across the region.

“This study quantifies the customer savings and environmental benefits of using more clean energy in the Northeast region,” says Moira Cyphers, director of Eastern state affairs for ACP. “This is a win-win. Clean energy provides significant cost savings for customers, reduces greenhouse gas emissions, and will bring good jobs to Northern Maine – promoting a healthier and more prosperous future for all.”

The report detailed significant market benefits for consumers in Maine as well as in neighboring states. The analysis studied two cases: a “Wind Only” case with 1,200 MW of land-based wind, and a “Wind+Solar” case with 900 MW of land-based wind and 300 MW of new solar. The report utilized this methodology to assess the various benefits of northern Maine renewable energy and transmission development to Maine and Massachusetts ratepayers as well as the ISO-NE region.

As a large source of low-cost, non-emitting energy, the report found that the addition of the renewable projects will reduce the need for the ISO-NE to dispatch inefficient and expensive fuel-fired resources, lowering wholesale energy market prices and providing significant energy cost savings for consumers in New England states.

Long-term contracts for clean energy will protect Maine from the kind of price volatility that has led to recent price spikes in the cost of energy, according to the report. The analysis projected savings of $35 million per year in the “Wind Only” scenario and $25 million per year in the “Wind+Solar” scenario.

Even though the specific resources studied in this analysis are located in northern Maine, the benefits accrue throughout the region. Massachusetts is poised to be the largest beneficiary of these developments: the report projected $129 million per year in the “Wind Only” scenario and $99 million in the “Wind+Solar” scenario.

Overall, the analysis quantified the region’s total savings at $277 million per year in the “Wind Only” scenario and $210 million per year for the “Wind+Solar” scenario.

In addition to lowering costs of energy supply, the report found that addition of clean energy capacity reduces the total regional emissions from the power supply sector, providing significant environmental benefits delivered by the incremental renewable resources. The report projected that the addition of the 1,200 MW of new renewable capacity will result in a reduction of 1.9 million metric tons of carbon emissions every year in the “Wind Only” scenario, and 1.7 million metric tons of carbon emissions reduced in the “Wind+Solar” scenario.

As New England states pursue economy-wide electrification and decarbonization, the report underscores the role northern Maine is playing as a catalyst for progress towards achieving state policy goals, realizing renewable-driven economic growth, and laying the foundation for a clean energy future. Regional integration opportunities demonstrate the potential the Northeast has to unlock both near-term and long-term benefits for consumers. 

Read the full study here.

Image: Andreas Gücklhorn on Unsplash

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Kevin Lucas

The Georgia Public Service Commission (PSC) voted on a final order in the Georgia Power Company (GPC) rate case. The order fails to expand the rooftop solar pilot program that the PSC created in 2020. Instead, the PSC adopted GPC’s anti-solar proposals to retain an instantaneous netting structure and impose a much higher and unjustified $100 interconnection fee for new solar customers, while approving a rate increase across the board for all ratepayers, reports the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).

Rooftop solar customers will see a temporary increase in the credit they receive for exported generation at a rate only slightly above the avoided cost for GPC, but the order fails to take steps necessary to support Georgia’s lagging rooftop solar market.

“We know that GPC will continue to fight fair compensation rates for rooftop solar, but we are particularly disappointed that the PSC let them get away with it,” said Kevin Lucas, SEIA’s senior director of utility regulation and policy. “The Commissioners had all the information and data they needed to expand the pilot monthly netting program and spur Georgia’s rooftop solar market, but they simply chose not to do so. Frustratingly, the PSC’s failure to expand the pilot program and only offer a temporary increase for exported energy will keep the state’s rooftop solar sector mired at the bottom of the national rankings.”

SEIA intervened in this case alongside Vote Solar and the Georgia Solar Energy Industries Association (GASEIA). The coalition’s joint comments include analysis showing how customers could have saved money under a different rate structure.

“The PSC’s small and temporary increase for exported rooftop solar energy will not encourage any economic development in the Georgia rooftop solar market,” states Allison Kvien, Southeast regulatory director at Vote Solar. “Policymakers should be working to expand solar access, not stifle it. As we begin a new legislative session in a few short weeks, we’ll be looking to state legislators to take real action and make Georgia a place where people have the ability and the real, economic option to manage their energy bills through rooftop solar adoption.”

“The solar industry is disappointed in the elected members of the PSC for not representing the voice and the needs of Georgia ratepayers during these extraordinary economic times,” comments Thatcher Young, a GASEIA board member and vice president of business development at Velo Solar. “The monthly netting pilot saw a 300 percent increase in new rooftop solar applications in under 12 months during a global pandemic, and clearly demonstrates what customers are looking for in the market. However, instead of a modest expansion, new solar customers will now pay more and get less. As is often the case with the PSC, this decision demonstrates the strength of GPC’s influence over the voices of its customers.”

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EQT’s EQT Infrastructure VI fund has acquired Madison Energy Investments (MEI) from affiliates of Stonepeak Partners LP. Founded in 2019 and headquartered in Vienna, VA, MEI is a developer, owner, and operator of distributed solar and energy storage projects for commercial and industrial (C&I) and community-based customers within the U.S.

Since inception, MEI has built a portfolio of more than 386 MW across the U.S. MEI’s on-site and proximate distributed energy projects address energy supply issues by delivering cost savings and enabling avoidance of transmission constraints for its customers.

EQT Infrastructure will support the MEI management team and platform by providing access to growth capital to accelerate the deployment of distributed solar and storage assets, offering EQT’s in-house digital expertise to further digitize the organization, and expanding MEI’s reach across a broader customer base.

“EQT Infrastructure has followed the renewable distributed generation market and MEI closely for several years given the strong thematic tailwinds supporting the sector, prior EQT experience in solar development and operation, and MEI’s strong position as a leading integrated platform in the U.S.,” says Alex Darden, partner and head of EQT’s U.S. “Infrastructure platform The renewable generation sector is an increasingly important part of the energy transition, and we are excited to partner with the MEI team as they build on their strong track record and continue to provide solar and storage energy solutions that are not only better for the environment, but also have tangible cost savings for their customers.”

“We are looking forward to partnering with EQT’s U.S. infrastructure platform. EQT’s team, experience and growth mindset make them the ideal partner to amplify our business in achieving new heights in clean energy,” states Richard Walsh, managing partner of MEI. “This is an exciting chapter we call ‘MEI 2.0’ – a transformative time in the industry with strong policy tailwinds, compelling economics for our customers and ever-increasing demand for resiliency and ESG solutions. Our focus remains on our customers and our partners to lead them through this critical energy transition. We could not be more excited to lean into the EQT portfolio and accelerate that mission.”

The transaction is subject to customary conditions and approvals and is expected to close in Q1 2023. With the acquisition of MEI, EQT Infrastructure VI (target fund size of EUR 20.0 billion) will be 0-5% invested based on its target fund size. The agreement to acquire MEI is the first transaction signed by EQT Infrastructure VI, which means that the fund has been activated and started charging management fees. EQT Infrastructure V is expected to be 80-85% invested following recent acquisitions (including closed and/or signed investments, announced public offers, if applicable, and less any expected syndication) and continues to be in its commitment period but management fees will, following activation of EQT Infrastructure VI, be based on net invested capital.

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Even the most well-capitalised firms like Northvolt, which is building several facilities including this one in Sweden, have spoken out about the need for more political support for battery supply chain projects. Image: Northvolt.

Europe needs to act now to prevent an outflow of investment from its burgeoning battery manufacturing ecosystem in light of the US’ Inflation Reduction Act, the EU-founded European Battery Alliance (EBA) has said.

A joint statement by the EBA, an industrial stakeholder organisation with around 800 members launched by the European Commission in 2017, and Commission Vice-President Maroš Šefčovič was made after a ‘high-level industrial meeting’ last week (14 December).

The meeting was held to, the statement read, “…discuss how to best address the impact of the US Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) on the European battery ecosystem,” representing the starkest acknowledgement of a trend Energy-Storage.news has reported on extensively recently.

Since the US passed the Act, which provides generous tax credits for both the upstream and downstream segments of the battery value chain, its annual growth in planned lithium-ion gigafactory capacity has been around 35%, twice that of Europe’s, according to research firm Benchmark Mineral Intelligence. Prior to August, the US’ growth was ‘minimal’, Benchmark analyst Evan Hartley told this site.

Although Hartley added the firm was not yet seeing producers shifting plans westwards, last week’s statement suggests this is a looming possibility. A raft of proposals for EU, state and local-level measures and an emergency package to “…keep over €100 billion (US$106.31 billion) of investments in Europe” was recommended by Šefčovič and the EBA, an industrial stakeholder-led organisation with around 800 members.

It comes a few weeks after the EU parliament’s trade committee Bernd Lange was quoted saying the bloc should file a complaint about the IRA with the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the basis that is incompatible with its rules.

Measures proposed by European Battery Alliance and Šefčovič

Firstly, the co-signees proposed a set of emergency financial incentives to accelerate investments in the EU’s battery ecosystem.

This includes accelerating, reprioritising and reallocating existing EU funds like Recovery and Resilience and REPowerEU towards strategic projects and capacity scale-ups in the battery value chain.

They also suggested making the battery value chain a priority for the new EU Sovereignty fund which will be proposed in summer 2023 and is aimed at supporting the continent’s green and digital transition.

Extending battery IPCEIs (Important Projects of Common European Interest) in Q1 2023 and reducing the complexity of IPCEI funding applications would also improve EU competitiveness, as would bringing in temporary rules for state aid to allow member states to provide capex and opex support to strategic projects.

The joint statement also proposed emergency measures to ease permitting for raw material and industrial projects to bolster the EU supply chains across the battery value chain. The second emergency measure would be ‘exceptional financial and administrative support’ to permitting authorities to accelerate permitting procedures.

A third set of measures was titled ‘Additional actions to boost the global leadership and long-term competitiveness of the EU battery value chain,’ a section in which it mentioned the US several times. Several suggestions specifically mentioning the US came under the title of ‘Ensure just competition to support the growth of the EU battery eco system’.

One of these is to “create a level playing field where battery manufacturers producing in Europe compete on equal terms, independent of higher subsidies or lower sustainability standards in Asia and the US.”

The idea of a “Buy European Act” which introduces high demands on local production and sustainability was floated alongside a review of “…EU trade measures, including duties for EV components andEVs, from third countries with different regulatory requirements and incentive schemes”, in light of the Inflation Reduction Act.

The day after the joint statement (15 December), the new chair of Sweden-based gigafactory company Northvolt, Jim Hagemann Snabe, told the Financial Times that Europe needs to do something similar to the US’ IRA to succeed in building up a strong battery ecosystem.

The company has reached a valuation of around US$12 billion and has around US$55 billion of orders for its Europe-made batteries but recently revealed it was considering delaying the 2025 start of its third battery cell manufacturing facility in Germany, citing the sharp rise in energy prices.

Energy-Storage.news first reported on widespread delays for lithium-ion gigafactory projects in Europe back in July this year, although research firm Delta-EE’s head of flexibility and storage cited lithium carbonate concerns as the key factor then.

Read all our previous coverage of gigafactory projects both in the US and Europe here.

Read the full joint statement from the EBA and Šefčovič in its original form below.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the eighth annual Energy Storage Summit EU in London, 22-23 February 2023. This year it is moving to a larger venue, bringing together Europe’s leading investors, policymakers, developers, utilities, energy buyers and service providers all in one place. Visit the official site for more info.

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Andrew Moles

AI Clearing has signed a multi-year partnership with PCL Construction’s Solar Division. This partnership will launch the next step in managing solar work with production tracking, quality checks, commissioning and tracking key performance indicators with its AI Surveyor solution.

“We are very excited about this partnership with AI Clearing,” says Andrew Moles, solar general manager for PCL. “We believe the combination of their amazing technical expertise with our wealth of construction experience will change how solar facilities are built, commissioned and managed.”

AI Clearing’s proprietary solution provides practical benefits such as increased efficiency, reduced surveying costs and mitigated construction-related risks.

“It is amazing to see such deep tech solution being quickly and safely deployed with PCL,” comments Adam Wiśniewski, CTO for AI Clearing. “Especially the combination of all aerial data with our OnSite app is proving to be super powerful for end users.”

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Credits: Origis Energy and Mitsubishi Power

Origis Energy has contracted with Mitsubishi Power Americas to deliver three utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects totaling 150 MW / 600 MWh. The projects will be co-located with three Origis Energy photovoltaic solar facilities in the Southeast United States to reduce curtailment of excess solar generation which will enable greater efficiency and higher capacity of the sites.

Origis will use the Mitsubishi Power Emerald storage solution for the three projects, successively coming online over the next two years. Origis has pioneered large-scale solar in the Southeast, working with utilities, municipalities and electric cooperatives to deploy over 1.5 GW of operational and contracted projects in the region. The company’s U.S. total for operational and contracted solar and BESS projects are over 4 GW. Energy storage enables Origis to add grid services to renewable energy generation. Consequently, Origis has 2.3 GWh of BESS projects contracted or in negotiation with 13.7 GWh currently being developed.

“Storage of renewably generated power is an increasingly important grid asset,” says Kenneth Kim, vice president of engineering and strategy planning at Origis Energy. “By adding the BESS solution to these facilities, we increase the value of the asset, adding enhanced grid solutions to clean, cost-effective solar power. We thank Mitsubishi Power for their collaboration on these projects, creating long-term benefits for our customers.”

The BESS projects will employ Mitsubishi Power’s Emerald Integrated Plant Controller – an Energy Management System (EMS) and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system – that instructs the BESS when to charge and deploy, monitors status, sends alarms and alerts, and enables long-term data storage.

“The Emerald storage solution technology we’re delivering for Origis follows rigorous NERC CIP and IEC 62443 Security Development Lifecycle Process policy and processes aligned to industry best practices,” states Alejandro Schnakofsky, vice president of global strategy for energy storage solutions at Mitsubishi Power Americas. “It is imperative in everything we do to protect energy systems and operators with the strongest level of cybersecurity possible.”

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The plant will have an initial 1GWh annual production capacity before quickly ramping up to double that by 2025. Image: NV Gotion.

Gotion High-Tech’s local subsidiary aims to build a battery pack and module gigafactory in Thailand targeting the electric vehicle (EV) and stationary storage markets.

The Chinese lithium battery manufacturer’s group company Gotion Singapore has agreed to form a joint venture (JV) with a pair of Thai power companies, Arun Plus Company and Global Power Synergy Public Company, to add to Gotion’s 14 existing giga-scale manufacturing facilities worldwide.

The deal was announced last week by PTT, a publicly listed oil and gas company owned by the government of Thailand. PTT is one of the owners of Global Power Synergy Company (GPSC), which was launched as an innovative and smart energy arm, that in turn formed a JV with Arun Plus to form Nuovo Plus Company (Nuovo Plus).

Nuovo Plus will own 51% of the Thai gigafactory business, and Gotion 49%. The JV holds authorised capital for investment of “nearly” THB600 million (US$17.21 million) PTT said.

Called NV Gotion Co, the new JV will import, assemble, and distribute battery modules as well as battery packs for EVs and battery energy storage systems (BESS).

According to PTT Public Company chief new business and infrastructure officer Dr Buranin Rattanasombat, the plant will have developed, and be providing, “high-quality lithium-ion batteries to the market” by Q4 2023.

The plant’s initial production capacity will be 1GWh/year, with plans to double that by the middle of the decade.

Rattanasombat, who is also chairman of the board for Nuovo Plus, said the establishment of the JV connects the upstream and downstream business involvement of PTT Group. NV Gotion can be a one-stop shop for industrial batteries in the wider ASEAN region of Southeast Asian countries as well as in Thailand, the chairman claimed.

As well as import, manufacture and distribution, the JV will also combine the R&D capabilities of the partners and their manufacturing know-how and an expert technical knowledge base, Rattanasombat said.

The plant will be built in Thailand’s Eastern Economic Corridor (EEC) which spans three provinces.

While it seems likely that a significant portion of the factory’s production will be dedicated to EVs, as is the case with the vast majority of new lithium battery production facilities around the world, the mention of a dedicated focus to the BESS sector marks the plan out as one of a growing handful.

In mid-November, Chinese BESS and solar PV inverter manufacturer Sungrow signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on energy transition topics including energy storage and green hydrogen with the state Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) of Thailand. Sungrow is also supplier of BESS equipment to a Thai solar-plus-storage plant which will host Southeast Asia’s biggest battery system so far, at 45MW/136.24MWh.

Thailand’s government is targeting 37% renewable energy in the energy mix by 2037, equivalent to just under 2.8GW of renewable generation. Longer term, carbon neutral status is being pursued for accomplishment by 2050 and net zero emissions by 2065.

Uptick in Southeast Asia’s energy storage investments

As detailed in a feature article included in the latest edition of our downstream solar technology journal PV Tech Power (Vol.33), Southeast Asia, while still a relatively small market compared to the US or other leading regions, is seeing battery storage investments and project numbers grow rapidly.

“The real uptick in investments into BESS projects, I’m talking about real commercial projects with solid financial fundamentals, came about three to four years ago and in the last two years, it is going exponentially up,” DNV principal consultant and energy storage lead George Garabandic said in interviews for the article.

Garabandic namechecked Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia, as regions where year-to-year growth in the energy storage markets have been growing “like crazy”. An extract of the article was published on this site today and can be read here.

Gotion appears to agree with that estimation – towards the end of November, the Chinese manufacturer’s JV in Vietnam with Vietnamese battery and storage-as-a-service group VinES broke ground on a battery cell factory.

The US$275 million plant will have 5GWh annual production capacity and will make lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells. Like Gotion’s Thailand plant, it will aim at both EV and BESS industry sectors, with start of operations scheduled for the third quarter of next year.

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Australia’s federal energy minister Chris Bowen visited Wallgrove BESS last week. Image: Transgrid.

The government of New South Wales (NSW) has pledged financial support to a pumped hydro project, while the state’s first grid-scale battery system has entered full commercial operations.

The NSW Minister for Energy Matt Kean and Minister for Lands and Water Kevin Anderson issued a joint statement yesterday, announcing AU$7 million (US$4.66 million) funding for feasibility studies for Phoenix Pumped Hydro.

If built, the project would be an 810MW pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) system with 12 hours storage duration, meaning roughly 9,720MWh of capacity. It would be built at Burrendong Dam, an inland dam which currently provides irrigation, flood mitigation, water supplies and 19MW of run-or-river hydroelectric power generation.

Phoenix Pumped Hydro would also sit within NSW’s Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), where about 3GW of renewable energy facilities are planned for deployment by the middle of this decade. With that figure derived from the 2022 Integrated System Plan roadmap produced by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), the planned capacity could be increased if appropriate.

Central-West Orana REZ was actually Australia’s first declared REZ plan, at a location chosen by the state government after a geospatial mapping exercise in 2018. It has of course been since joined by REZ developments in most of the country’s six federated states and two internal territories.

The NSW government has said it anticipated the REZ would bring some AU$5 billion investment into the Central-West Orana Region by 2030, while a first registration of interest round in June 2020 received 113 submissions from developers representing a total 27GW of projects.

Funding pledged will come through New South Wales’ Pumped Hydro Recoverable Grants Program, which the state government has deemed a key aspect of its own Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap. The scheme opened with AU$50 million funding available, but the government topped that up this year with a further AU$24 million.

The government considers that pumped hydro offers an effective and proven long-duration energy storage (LDES) technology to help integrate renewable energy and keep networks stable. The programme, for which applications are now closed, offers recoverable grants for pre-investment activities.

Recipients must match or better the grant themselves, with the grant repayable on the achievement of financial close.

To be eligible, projects had to be of at least 30MW and up to 3GW, with at least 8-hour duration, but with preference shown for projects with more than 12-hour duration and need to be in operation by 31 December 2029.  

“Pumped hydro acts like a giant battery for the electricity system. It works by using surplus renewable energy to pump water up a hill when it is sunny and windy, and releasing the water back down the hill through giant turbines that create electricity when it is still and dark,” energy minister Matt Kean said.

“Bringing the grant funding and development access together will play a key role in fast-tracking the development of pumped hydro, which will be critical to replace our ageing coal fire power stations.”

Funds will also come from the Renewable Energy and Energy Storage Program hosted by state water company WaterNSW. WaterNSW opened the programme in 2020, seeking proposals for pumped hydro projects at Burrendong Dam and at another site, Windamere.

WaterNSW handed a development agreement to ACEN Australia, the regional subsidiary of Philippines holding company Ayala Group’s energy business ACEN. Meanwhile, the water company is evaluating proposals for projects at other dam sites, and is expected to announce any successful applicants next year.

Wallgrove BESS providing ‘critical learnings’

Elsewhere in NSW, Transgrid, operator of the high voltage electricity network in New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), said at the weekend that its first large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) “paved the way,” for future developments.

Transgrid’s 50MW/75MWh Wallgrove BESS project was chosen as the site for the announcement of government funding for eight BESS projects, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

As reported by Energy-Storage.news, ARENA is offering AU$176 million financial support to the 4.2GWh of projects, which will be equipped with advanced inverter technologies that can deliver inertia – a key grid-stabilising service that historically has been done by thermal power plants (as well as hydroelectric plants).

With the need to rely more on renewables and less on fossil fuels apparent, battery storage can deliver a kind of synthetic inertia, injecting or absorbing power to stabilise the operation of the grid in real-time.

While the country’s first BESS project to deliver that service went into action in 2018 in South Australia, Transgrid CEO Brett Redman noted nonetheless that as one of Australia’s earliest examples, and the first in NSW, learnings from operating Wallgrove will provide valuable lessons.

“Our trial of network services like synthetic inertia paved the way for this next generation of batteries and will provide critical learnings while also delivering grid stability at a lower cost for consumers,” Redman said.

“Inertia is like riding a bike, when you take your feet off the pedals it keeps rolling, but not for long, which is why we need to maintain inertia in our energy system to keep it operating.

“Currently synchronous generators or condensers can deliver inertia for stability, but batteries can also provide a greater range of benefits at a lower overall cost. They can also store excess renewable energy and then release it when consumers need it to help keep energy prices down.”

Like the Hornsdale Power Reserve, another South Australian BESS that provides synthetic inertia, Wallgrove BESS was retrofitted with advanced inverters post-COD. What Wallgrove also has in common with Hornsdale is that the BESS provider was Tesla.

Tesla’s Megapack BESS solution has a ‘Virtual Machine Mode’ setting for delivering synthetic inertia. Meanwhile, Spanish power company Iberdrola executed the project, together with Transgrid and its commercial arm, Lumea.

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The Philippines’
first large-scale
solar-plus-storage
hybrid (pictured),
was commissioned this year. Image: ACEN.

There has been an uptick in energy storage investment in Southeast Asia, a region still largely powered by coal and experiencing high growth in population and energy demand. Andy Colthorpe speaks with companies working to establish a framework of opportunities in the region.

This is an extract of an article which appears in Vol.33 of PV Tech Power, Solar Media’s quarterly technical journal for the downstream solar industry. Every edition includes ‘Storage & Smart Power,’ a dedicated section contributed by the team at Energy-Storage.news.

Almost all Southeast Asian countries have experienced a doubling of their GDP since the turn of the millennium and seen their energy demand increase by around 3% every year in that time, according to the International Energy Agency (IEA).

The IEA’s 2022 Southeast Asia Energy Outlook reported that under stated policies by the ten countries in the ASEAN region, three-quarters of that increasing demand will be met with fossil fuels, leading to a 35% increase in CO2 emissions.

However, with six of those countries now committed to a future net zero target date, renewable energy buildout is set to accelerate. In a scenario where global warming is restricted to “well below 2°C” within the aims of the Paris Agreement, Southeast Asia countries must deploy around 21GW of renewable energy each year to 2030 and about a quarter of cars sold must be electric vehicles (EVs).

Under that Sustainable Development Scenario (SDS), wind and solar PV reach an 18% share of generation by 2030 and 44% by 2050. To integrate these higher shares at lowest cost and balance the system flexibly, that could equate to a need for about 45GW of energy storage.

‘Very big need for energy storage systems’

“For all of these countries, we see that there is going to be a very big need for energy storage systems,” Frederic Carron, VP for the Middle East and Asia region at Wärtsilä Energy.

“Most people have a feeling that yes, energy storage is going to be part of the solution, but they don’t know exactly what benefit it is going to provide in terms of emission reduction, plus also in terms of overall system cost benefit.”

Wärtsilä has delivered a number of projects in the region, including Singapore’s first-ever pilot grid-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) and several large-scale projects in the Philippines, building on the company’s existing presence as a provider of flexible engine power plant solutions.

Wärtsilä is also among the international players to have been awarded projects in Taiwan, not one of the ASEAN countries, but often included in considerations of the Southeast Asia region. In studies of its own, Wärtsilä modelled the power systems of three key ASEAN countries, the Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia. Wärtsilä inputs the targeted net zero date as well as the current power generation portfolio in place for a territory in its power system studies.

For example, Luzon, the largest and most populous island of the Philippines, would only reach 26% renewable energy by 2030 and 34% by 2040, under a national Power Development Plan.

That’s far short of the 35% and 50% called for by the Philippines’ National Renewable Energy Program 2020-2040. As well as faster buildout of renewable energy, Luzon will need about 6GW of energy storage, according to Wärtsilä’s study.

So how has the market progressed so far? There has been a real “uptick in investments” in the past couple of years, George Garbandic, principal consultant and energy storage lead for DNV in the APAC region, says.

DNV entered the region about eight years ago as an “exploratory presence” and focused on market-making activities. An unknown field at the time, the market lacked investment funds, developers and off-takers making a concerted effort to get into energy storage.

“The real uptick in investments into BESS projects, I’m talking about real commercial projects with solid financial fundamentals, came about three to four years ago and in the last two years, it is going exponentially up,” Garabandic says.

It’s still not at the same sort of level seen in the US, in Europe, or even in Australia nearby, but year-to-year growth in the market has been “like crazy”, he says.

Those countries include Vietnam, Thailand, Taiwan, Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. That growth is distributed quite equally throughout the region, although each country comes from a very different starting point.

What’s missing?

The main market barriers are similar to what was first seen in now more mature energy storage markets – battery storage is a relatively new technology that was never factored in when it came to grid or energy capacity planning in the past.

“We still need a unifying and a firm grid interconnect norm, which is valid for every single large utility-scale renewable project in Vietnam, in Thailand, in Taiwan, in any one of these countries that has reached the limit for hosting capacity of renewables,” Garabandic says.

“Once this is available, then potential investors will look at these new interconnect norms, that will encompass some level of dispatchability of renewables, and based on these norms, they will provide the necessary storage capability within their renewable parks and maintain compliance.”

A Wärtsilä BESS project in the Philippines, completed last year. Image: Wärtsilä Energy.

Institutional investors still not ready

A year and a half ago, at the Solar and Storage Finance Asia conference hosted by our publisher Solar Media, Alexander Lenz, CEO of Aquila Capital’s APAC business said the industry should be proactive in offering input to regulators and other stakeholders in Southeast Asia.

With grids in ASEAN countries dispersed around many islands and less interconnected than other parts of the world, energy storage presents an excellent opportunity to keep networks stable while integrating higher shares of solar PV and wind.

However, as Lenz said at the time, under the current regulatory environment energy storage can’t generate the revenue streams to give investors certainty, and grid operators in the region need to understand how different storage applications and technologies can benefit their networks.

Aquila Capital invests in sustainable infrastructure including renewable energy on behalf of institutional investors.

“We wish we could say that the permitting and regulatory environment for renewables has massively shifted in the last 12 months, but unfortunately, we are still facing many of the same headwinds we did in ASEAN a year ago – namely a challenging permitting, regulatory and policy environment and now with the added macroeconomic pressures of rising material costs, inflation and supply chain challenges,” Alexander Lenz said when approached for comment.

But despite those challenges, Lenz says he has “no doubt” battery storage will be critical to balance the load across grids and handle the intermittency of renew able generation and is hopeful this will be the case in the ASEAN region too.

“With a surer picture of the boundary conditions around any investment or project in ASEAN, we would be more than happy to take on the required risk to build the needed battery energy storage capacity across the region,” Lenz says.

This is an extract of an article which appears in Vol.33 of PV Tech Power, Solar Media’s quarterly technical journal for the downstream solar industry. Every edition includes ‘Storage & Smart Power,’ a dedicated section contributed by the team at Energy-Storage.news.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 1st Energy Storage Summit Asia, 11-12 July 2023 in Singapore. The event will help give clarity on this nascent, yet quickly growing market, bringing together a community of credible independent generators, policymakers, banks, funds, off-takers and technology providers. For more information, go to the website.

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