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Hithium LFP cells used in China’s ‘largest standalone battery storage project’

The 200MW/400MWh BESS project in Ningxia, China. Image: Hithium Energy Storage.

A 200MW/400MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) has gone live in Ningxia, China, equipped with Hithium lithium iron phosphate (LFP) cells.

The manufacturer, established only three years ago in 2019 but already ramping up to a target of more than 135GWh of annual battery cell production capacity by 2025 for total investment value of about US$4.71 billion, announced the project’s commissioning yesterday.

The project was connected to the grid earlier this month, through a system integrator called ROBESTEC, about which little information appears publicly available. However, it is understood that although Hithium makes and provides complete BESS solutions as well as cells, in this case it was the cell supplier.

The facility stores energy at times of abundant generation from solar PV and wind, putting it into the grid during times of peak demand. It will also help regulate grid frequency.

At this year’s RE+ 2022 solar PV and energy storage trade show in California, Hithium launched its new 300Ah prismatic cell and a 46mm cylindrical cell, touting the prismatic cell’s capability to go through 12,000 cycles in its lifetime and to operate without capacity fade for the first three years of use. Those will be on the US market by Q1 2023.

Xiamen Hithium Energy Storage Technology, to give the company its full name, is one of a growing number of Chinese battery manufacturers making LFP cells and with products dedicated to the stationary BESS market.

In an interview earlier this year, featured in Vol.32 of our quarterly journal PV Tech Power, industry analyst Cormac O’Laire said that annual production capacity of BESS-specific cell factories in the country will reach more than 200GWh by 2025.

That, O’Laire said, should be enough to cater for global demand from the sector combined with European – and latterly US – companies that are scrambling to build up manufacturing of their own, but which would be nowhere near capable of meeting that demand independently of China.

Furthermore, O’Laire, senior manager for market intelligence with Clean Energy Associates (CEA), said that with more than 5 million tonnes of LFP cathode active material (CAM) capacity expansions announced in China, equivalent to about 2TWh, there is a strong possibility LFP could be a surplus market as early as 2024.

While recent soaring prices of materials including lithium carbonate have put upward pressure on battery costs, BloombergNEF’s recently published annual survey of battery pack prices found LFP packs are still on average 20% cheaper than nickel manganese cobalt (NMC), even with a higher proportion of lithium carbonate being used in LFP production.

There are also reportedly concerns in China about NMC for stationary applications, with LFP perceived to be the safer choice.

According to official Ministry of Industry and Information Technology statistics, China’s production output of lithium-ion batteries for energy storage reached 32GWh in 2021, a 146% increase from 2020.

As well as being the world’s manufacturing centre for batteries, China is also the country most involved in the entire lithium battery value chain, as highlighted and analysed recently by BloombergNEF.

Downstream, the country is targeting 30GW of non-hydroelectric energy storage deployment by 2025, and 120GW of new pumped hydro by 2030.

CATL continues BESS drive with 10GWh Gresham House deal

Executives from Gresham House and CATL marking the agreement. Image: CATL / Gresham House.

China-based battery cell OEM CATL and UK energy storage investor Gresham House have entered into a long-term agreement for the supply of 7.5GWh of BESS, potentially rising to 10GWh.

The companies announced the agreement today, 22 December, which was scant on details but will see CATL supply 7.5GWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) to Gresham House. Both parties will endeavour to increase that to 10GWh, the announcement added.

CATL, full name Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited, is the largest lithium-ion battery cell manufacturer in the world but has recently been expanding its fully-containerised BESS product division.

In September, the company signed a similar deal with another major energy storage company, US-based system integrator FlexGen, to supply 10GWh of its EnerC containerised liquid cooled BESS product. The product comes with IP55 and C5 anti-corrosion protection, can fit up to 259.7kWh of battery storage into a square metre footprint and has a 20-year warranty.

CATL will also supply the entire 1.4GWh battery storage portion of the Gemini solar-plus-storage project in Nevada with EnerC units, with system integrator IHI Terrasun putting the project together.

The Ningde-headquartered firm has also been expanding its global manufacturing capacity. Just this week, it announced the start of cell production at its Germany plant, the first in Europe. As Energy-Storage.news reported a few months ago whilst reporting on delays to gigafactory projects on the continent, it is also planning a second in Hungary.

It is also currently assessing locations for a gigafactory in Mexico, which would be the first substantial facility producing lithium-ion cells for the general market in the whole of Latin America.

Gresham House through its Gresham House Energy Storage Fund plc, meanwhile, continues to expand its presence in the UK battery storage market. It October, it reported a 53.5% increase in net asset value (NAV) to £785 million (US$880 million) and expects to reach a total operational capacity of 1GW/1.2GWh by the first quarter of 2023.

The UK currently has 2.35GW of battery storage online according to figures from Solar Media Market Research’s UK Battery Storage Project Database Report.

Gresham House has not yet expanded out of the UK/Ireland market to-date but considering the size of the agreement, this now seems likely. Energy-Storage.news has reached out to the investor for clarification on that point.

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.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners buys Queensland renewables-plus-storage hub development

Elsewhere in Queensland, developer Genex is building Australia’s first new PHES plant in 40 years at the site pictured, in Kidston. Image: Genex Power.

A large-scale renewable energy hub in Queensland, Australia, which will include a 16-hour duration pumped hydro plant has been acquired by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP).

CIP made the agreement to acquire the various clean energy projects at Bowen Renewable Energy Hub from local developers Bowen River Utilies and Renewable Energy Partners. Bowen River Utilities has claimed it will be North Australia’s “largest renewable baseload energy project”.

Co-located solar PV, wind and a hydrogen electrolyser will be deployed along with a 750MW pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) plant with 16-hours storage duration (equivalent to 12,000MWh).

Values for the planned solar PV and wind capacity and output of the electrolyser were not given, but according to Bowen River Utilities the hub will total 1,400MW of generation capacity.

CIP intends to rename the hub Capricornia Energy Hub. The investor, perhaps best known for its activities in offshore wind energy, but with a broad interest in other renewable and clean energy technologies, is acquiring the hub development on behalf of its €7 billion (US$7.45 billion) CI IV fund, one of 10 funds in CIP’s portfolio.

Originally planned to be co-located with a new dam development, that is no longer the case and the site will host energy facilities only, CIP said today.

“We are excited about adding pumped hydro to CIP’s existing pipeline of onshore wind and battery energy storage in Queensland which we consider one of the best places in Australia to invest in clean energy,” CIP Australia head Jørn Hammer said.

Queensland’s government has made major moves to accelerate the transition to renewables and away from fossil fuels in the past few months. It perhaps has a pressing need, with Queensland’s economy the most carbon-intensive of Australia’s states and territories.

The Queensland 2022-2023 State Budget announced in June included AU$48 million (US$32.4 million) funding into feasibility studies for two large-scale PHES projects, before a couple of weeks later the government of State Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk said it would help fund a “blitz” of battery energy storage system (BESS) projects.

At present, the state is at about the 21% renewable energy mark, but in September, Palaszczuk’s administration committed to a policy target of 70% renewables by 2032 and 90% emissions reduction by 2035.

Along with deploying about 22GW of new renewable energy capacity, achieving those goals will require considerable upgrades to the transmission network, dubbed by Palaszczuk’s Labor Party as the creation of a “SuperGrid” and the conversion of coal power plants to renewables hubs.

Part of facilitating the AU$62 billion climate crisis mitigation and economic activity driving package will include the creation and adoption of a strategy on energy storage, the state government has said.

The Queensland government-owned power company CS Energy signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the CIP-acquired Bowen/Capricornia project earlier this year.

CS Energy’s main business is supplying energy to large industrial customers and government entities and the company is exploring options to contract for power from the renewables, storage and hydrogen hub via a power purchase agreement (PPA).

The power company could also get involved with equity funding and project operations at the site, CIP said.

This project provides an opportunity to further diversify our portfolio so that we have a balanced mix of energy sources to support our customers’ requirements and Queensland’s energy needs. “Pumped hydro energy storage is widely recognised as a crucial technology in Australia’s energy transformation because it can provide fast response power and is complementary to wind and solar,” CS Energy CEO Andrew Bills said.

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.

Munich Re Subsidiary Acquires Stake in Two EDFR Calif. Solar, Storage Projects

Maverick 6 and 7 solar projects

EDF Renewables North America (EDFR) and MEAG, acting in its capacity as Munich Re’s global asset manager, have closed on a strategic investment whereby a subsidiary of Munich Re acquired a 50% stake in two renewable energy projects in California totaling 310 MW DC of solar and 50 MW / 200 MWh of battery storage.

EDF Renewables and MEAG/Munich Re announced last year that they had agreed to partner on the Maverick 6 Solar-plus-Storage Project, 131 MW DC solar coupled with a 50 MW/200 MWh battery energy storage system, and the Maverick 7 Solar Project with a capacity of 179 MW DC. The projects, which utilize horizontal single-axis tracking technology, are located adjacent to one another in Riverside County, Calif., on federal lands within a Solar Energy Zone and Development Focus Area, managed by the U.S. Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

“We are excited to reach this critical milestone with MEAG, “says Andres Estrada, divestiture and portfolio strategy manager for EDF Renewables. “The renewable energy industry has experienced significant volatility over the past two years. While a predictable policy environment and reliable supply chain are key to the industry’s growth, so is the steady, long-term approach to investing in the growth of the low-carbon economy from institutional partners like MEAG.”

The projects combined will generate enough clean energy to meet the consumption of 108,500 average California homes. This is equivalent to avoiding more than 527,000 metric tons of CO2 emissions annually.

“Maverick 6&7 are another significant step to further increase the North American renewables portfolio for Munich Re, after MEAG’s most recent investments in the area,” comments Dr. Alexander Poll, MEAG’s market lead for U.S. infrastructure investments. “Given Munich Re’s strong position in the U.S. insurance market, we are fully committed to additional growth in the renewables space in the United States.”

“We are very pleased about this transaction and are looking forward to continuing our successful partnership history with EDF Renewables, both in Europe and the U.S.,” adds Martin Kaufmann, senior vice president for MEAG’s U.S. infrastructure investments. “This investment makes an important contribution to Munich Re’s net-zero climate commitment under the Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance (AOA), which Munich Re joined in 2020.”

Corre to deploy 320MW CAES long-duration energy storage facility for Eneco in Netherlands

A mock-up of the compressed air energy storage system. Image: Eneco.

Utility Eneco and Corre Energy have signed an agreement for the latter to deploy a 320MW, 84-hour duration compressed air energy storage system (CAES) in Groningen, the Netherlands.

Dublin-based Corre Energy plans to build the facility in a salt cavern in the municipality of Zuidwending. Exploratory drilling will start in 2023 to assess if the site is suitable for compressed air storage, and the installation of the entire system is expected to be completed by 2026.

The planned system will use up to 220MW of power to convert excess electricity into compressed air and store it in the cavern. When the energy is needed, the compressed air will be expanded through a turbine which will generate electricity with a maximum power of 320MW.

The system can discharge at this power for three and a half days, of 84 hours, which equates to a potential 26,880MWh or 26.88GWh energy storage capacity.

However, Corre’s corporate affairs consultant Kieran McKinney told Energy-Storage.news that, although the calculation is a useful proxy, because the system is fuel-based “….the implied energy storage capacity cannot simply be directly compared to battery capacity”.

“With this storage duration, the facility will be able to arbitrage over a rolling two-week period, as there will be both daily and weekly demand cycles, combined with 2-5 days weather cycles,” he said.

Energy-Storage.news asked why Eneco would opt for CAES instead of advanced compressed air energy storage (A-CAES), which has a round-trip efficiency higher than the former at about 65% versus around 40%.

In response, McKinney said that the conventional diabatic CAES (D-BAES), which in this case is hydrogen-ready, provides a longer duration option than an adiabatic A-CAES system can, and that fuel-efficiency is not the only metric to consider.

“The key here is in understanding the requirements within this geographic environment. The North-West European energy system will face an increasing challenge because the renewables build is likely to be dominated by offshore wind – the nature of the unpredictability here means that flexible storage durations in excess of 3 days will be essential,” he said.

“Fuel-efficiency is of course always important but, in this environment we need also to extend the concept of efficiency to consider economic efficiency. In this market, where duration and flexibility are so important, the full-cycle economic efficiency is strong, because of the almost perfect negative correlation to offshore wind.”

He added that another benefit to the facility is that it will be hydrogen-enabled, providing “a clear path for the transition to green hydrogen, as this market develops”. However, a press release was not clear on when the system would utilise hydrogen, giving separate carbon reduction benefits of its deployment with hydrogen (450,000 tonnes of CO2 a year) and, presumably, without (250,000 tonnes).

Corre Energy is a member of the Long Duration Energy Storage (LDES) Council, founded last year to promote the deployment of LDES technologies.

Click on following links to read more Energy-Storage.news coverage about developments using CAES (here) and A-CAES (here) technology.

SEPTA, Lightsource bp Begin Operations on Elk Hill Solar 1 Farm in Pennsylvania

Elk Hill 2 Solar Farm

A 25 MW solar project that is helping advance energy and sustainability priorities for the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) has reached commercial operation. The project is one of two solar farms that SEPTA and Lightsource bp have partnered on, bringing their joint statewide operational solar assets to more than 42 MW – enough to meet about 20% of SEPTA’s electricity demand.

“SEPTA is proud to be an industry leader in utilizing new technologies that are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing the quality of life for our customers and the communities we serve,” says Leslie S. Richards, SEPTA’s CEO and general manager. “One of the main goals of our strategic business plan, SEPTA Forward, is to enhance sustainability and expand our access to renewable energy sources. We have taken a major step forward with these solar farms, and we look forward to launching more innovative projects and partnerships.”

Elk Hill Solar 1, developed under a power purchase agreement between SEPTA and Lightsource bp, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 28,000 metric tons of CO2 annually, equivalent to offsetting the emissions of 6,160 fuel burning cars. The solar farm was developed, and is owned and operated by Lightsource bp.

“In addition to lowering greenhouse gas emissions by generating electricity from Pennsylvania home-grown renewable energy sources, solar projects like these can help strengthen local rural economies across the Commonwealth,” states Kevin Smith, CEO of the Americas for Lightsource bp. “Our multiuse land strategies further multiply the benefits of these projects.”

Lightsource bp and project investors fully funded the project, an estimated $25 million of investment into new energy infrastructure for Pennsylvania. In addition to providing cost-competitive, locally generated renewable energy that’s being delivered into the electric grid, Elk Hill Solar 1 created 100 jobs during the construction of the facility.

UK BESS investor Gore Street reports strong financials despite macroeconomic headwinds

Gore Street Capital CEO Alex O’Cinneide said the battery storage portfolio grew significantly and strategic objectives achieved “despite the changing macro inflationary environment.” Image: Gore Street Capital.

Despite macroeconomic challenges, Gore Street’s asset value surged 45% over the six months from 31 March 2022, as ancillary service revenues stayed strong.

The UK-headquartered battery energy storage fund highlighted the impact of rising short-term inflation, rising interest rates, high foreign exchange (FX) volatility and increasing construction costs on its portfolio.

During the period, Gore Street Energy Storage Fund’s total portfolio increased to 698.2MW from 628.5MW as of 31 March 2022. It had 16 operational projects, with a total capacity of 291.6MW across four markets: Britain, Ireland, Germany and the ERCOT market in Texas. This is up from 12 projects with a capacity of 231.7MW as of the end of March.

“I am pleased to report another successful period of growth as we continue to deliver on our strategic objectives of providing an attractive level of returns to shareholders despite the changing macro inflationary environment through providing an essential service enabling the renewable transition and enhancing energy security,” said Alex O’Cinneide, CEO of Gore Street Capital, the investment adviser to the company.

“The portfolio grew significantly during the period, with total capacity reaching nearly 900MW in aggregate post-period end, of which 291MW is operational and generating strong cash flow for the company.”

Gore Street’s British assets made up the bulk of the company’s revenue during the period, benefitting from the significant volatility in the market. The revenue was predominantly derived from Dynamic Containment and Firm Frequency Response ancillary services, as they offered the best returns with the Capacity Market adding to the revenue stack.

Gore Street’s net asset value (NAV) grew from £369.6 million (US$448.36 million) in March 2022 to £534.79 million as of September 2022. Its NAV per share increased 3.7% to 111.1 pence, and its NAV total return was 4.65% for the period.

To read the full version of this story, visit Solar Power Portal.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 8th 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.

Mitsubishi Power deploying 600MWh of battery storage for Origis in Southeast US

Mitsubishi will deploy the projects for Origis over the next three years. Image: Origis Energy and Mitsubishi Power.

The power solutions arm of Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi will deploy three co-located battery storage projects for Origis Energy in the Southeast United States.

Florida-headquartered Origis has contracted Mitsubishi Power Americas to deliver three utility-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) projects totalling 150MW/600MWh. The projects will be co-located with solar facilities, will utilise the firm’s Emerald storage solution and will come online over the next two years.

A press release did not reveal which states the projects would be in. Of the 32 US projects listed on Origis’ site, 10 are in Florida, another 10 are evenly split between Georgia and Mississippi, with the remainder spread among the rest of the Southeast US (a region comprising around 14 states) and a few elsewhere in the country.

The project awards are nonetheless notable for being large-scale deployments outside of Texas and California, which continued to dominate the US’ BESS market of deployments in Q3. A broadening out of the market outside those two was highlighted by Mitsubishi Power Americas’ Senior VP Energy Storage Solutions Thomas Cornell in comments recently given to Energy-Storage.news.

“One of the biggest steps forward we have seen as an industry is the increased confidence and adoption in battery energy storage outside of the mature markets in the United States, including California and Texas. Mitsubishi Power is seeing this within our business with the projects awarded in the Southeast United States and Chile,” he said.

“As more battery energy storage assets are successfully commissioned and continue to meet customer expectations, it is resulting in more confidence and understanding of the many roles battery energy storage has in the energy landscape as a generation and transmission asset.”

Origis said the BESS units will enable it to add grid services to renewable energy generation. The company has 4GW of operational or contracted solar and storage in the US, and 2.3GWh of BESS contracted and 13.7GWh being developed.

Kenneth Kim, Vice President, Engineering & Strategy Planning, 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.”

Emerald is a lithium iron phosphate (LFP) based BESS product with up to six hours’ duration, although the three projects will be four-hour systems. They will also utilise Mitsubishi Power’s Emerald Integrated Plant Controller, its energy management system (EMS), and its Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system which will instruct the BESS’ charging and discharging activities and monitor its health.

The firm has over 2.5GWh of utility-scale BESS projects at varying stages of development globally.

Energy-Storage.news’ publisher Solar Media will host the 5th Energy Storage Summit USA, 28-29 March 2023 in Austin, Texas. Featuring a packed programme of panels, presentations and fireside chats from industry leaders focusing on accelerating the market for energy storage across the country. For more information, go to the website.

Independent power producer ILOS Projects raises €500 million for European solar, storage pipeline

A 10MW PV plant in Germany. Image: Enerparc.

German independent power producer (IPP) ILOS Projects has secured a €500 million (US$531 million) structured finance facility from global energy and infrastructure investor EIG, intended to fund ILOS’s plans for over 2GW of solar and battery storage capacity by 2026.

The facility consists of an initial €250 million (US$266 million) loan and contains an accordion allowing for a further tranche of €250 million.

ILOS Projects is sponsored by global infrastructure financier Omnes Capital. Michael Pollan, partner at Omnes, said: “ILOS has seen tremendous growth over the last two years. We are proud to continue supporting the company as it works toward this ambitious IPP project.”

ILOS said that it plans to expand its scope to become a pan-European IPP, initially focusing on projects in Ireland, the UK, the Netherlands, Greece and Italy but with a view to expanding to other jurisdictions and into battery storage and hydrogen projects.

Loan proceeds in this agreement have been made available for construction equity and acquisition capital for ready-to-build assets.

Rob Johnson, managing director and global head of direct lending at EIG, said: “We’re thrilled to support ILOS in these exciting growth initiatives as they work to expand their footprint across Europe. This transaction is a testament to our confidence in the management team, their strategy and ILOS’s sponsors, and it underscores EIG’s commitment to investing in high-quality assets and energy infrastructure that support a low-carbon future.”

This story first appeared on PV Tech.

‘Major breakthrough’: Australia’s support for energy storage tackles key electricity policy issue

Anthony Albanese (pictured) and the Labor Party have taken on board the need for storage in making clean energy dispatchable, Dr Bruce Mountain said. Image: Anthony Albanese’s office via Twitter.

Australian energy ministers’ recent agreement to launch tenders for a mix of renewable energy and energy storage is a “major breakthrough in federal policy”.

That’s the view of Dr Bruce Mountain, energy economics expert at the Victorian Energy Policy Centre (VEPC), who warmly welcomed the high-level agreement and its promise to exclude coal and gas from procurement processes.

As reported by Energy-Storage.news earlier this month as Federal energy minister Chris Bowen and energy ministers from Australian states and territories met and decided in principle to launch a scheme to tender for dispatchable renewable energy on a competitive basis.

It is also expected that a Renewable Energy Storage Target (REST) scheme will be introduced for small-scale energy storage deployments.

Energy minister Bowen said the agreement had come after years of discussion, perhaps less charitably described by trade group the Smart Energy Council as a “landmark day” that followed nine years of inaction on climate by Australia’s federal governments.

With leadership at the top of central government taken up by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese’ Labor Party in May, Labor, which ran on a platform which included promises to act on climate change and energy security issues, has already started making reforms to change that course.

“We’ve had a debate in the National Electricity Market (NEM) for the last four or five years on market design. It’s been a protracted, very arcane technical debate taken forward by the regulatory agencies,” Bruce Mountain told Energy-Storage.news in an interview.

The process had hit the buffers and been deadlocked because proposed solutions from regulatory agencies would always involve coal and gas-fired generation. Several ministers would not accept schemes that incentivised new gas generation or payments to existing coal.

“Essentially, with a change of government, the federal energy minister and the Energy Department took charge of this part of the process and sought agreements at a very high level with the states’ energy ministers, who under our constitution have the responsibility for electricity supply,” Mountain said.

“Where they have got to, is a very high-level description of a mechanism whose essential detail is that it will exclude coal and gas generation from compensation under the scheme.”

‘Biggest electricity policy issue’

Earlier this year, the energy economics academic had told this site that Australia had a pressing need for a coordinated policy on energy storage, most likely in the form of a target. Mountain and VEPC were far from alone in calling for a target or similar scheme, with the Smart Energy Council and Climate Council non-profit advocacy group also promoting the idea.

While, as Mountain said, the newly announced scheme isn’t quite the same as the REST he proposed, and indeed, details of the scheme, or schemes, haven’t yet been discussed, the academic said he was very pleased with the ministers’ provisional agreement.

“I’d said prior to the election federally, that a storage target would be the biggest electricity policy issue for the government,” Mountain said.

Labor’s election win on a pro-climate platform had handed the government a mandate to accelerate the energy transition. But while energy storage appeared to have a place in government plans, it appeared Albanese’s party saw increased investment in transmission as more capable of dramatically increasing the adoption of renewables and phasing out fossil fuels.

That’s perhaps why arguably the first major action on climate by Labor since taking office was the launch of the Rewiring the Nation AU$20 billion (US$13.34 billion) fund to invest in transmission corridors, to take clean energy around the country from where it can be abundantly produced to where it is most needed.

Both transmission and energy storage will be important – the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has modelled a need for 46GW/640GWh of energy storage in the NEM by 2050 – and the country is targeting running on 82% renewables by 2030.

Mountain believes the government has come to the view that storage is important and become explicit about expanding storage deployment.

“I think this is a major breakthrough at a federal level,” Mountain said, adding that at state level, the commitment to energy storage as a component of a cleaner grid has been evident for some time.

That’s nowhere more evident than in VEPC’s home state of Victoria, which has introduced one of the world’s biggest energy storage targets, mandated through the re-election of Premier Daniel Andrews’ regional Labor Party. Other examples include Queensland, Australia’s most carbon-intensive state, which is angling for very rapid adoption of renewables and storage.