Rockhampton residents will soon reap the benefits of grid-scale renewable storage soaking up excess solar production, with Powerlink flicking the switch on a 50MW/100MWh battery in Bouldercombe.
The battery will be fully operational later this year.
“Big Bessie” (BESS stands for Battery Energy Storage System) comprises 40 Tesla Megapack 2.0 units and has the equivalent storage of more than 7600 Tesla Powerwalls.
Built by Genex, the batteries use Tesla’s auto-bidder software and will be operated by Tesla for eight years under an offtake arrangement that guarantees Genex’s revenue.
In this announcement to the Australian Securities Exchange (PDF) in June, when the battery was first energised, Genex explained:
“Tesla will operate the plant to maximise revenues in the energy arbitrage and frequency control ancillary services markets, while providing a guaranteed minimum level of revenues.”
Income beyond the minimum will be “largely captured by Genex”, with a portion shared with Tesla.
“This ensures that Genex directly participates in the revenue upside from significant volatility and wholesale market pricing events.”
The battery is expected to discharge 27,375MWh each year and can power more than 4,000 homes.
Bouldercombe, about 23km south of Rockhampton, was chosen as the site for the battery because it’s adjacent to Powerlink’s Queensland SuperGrid substation.
The battery was created as part of the Queensland government’s “Energy and Jobs Plan”, and Powerlink says it will “supercharge local energy affordability.”
Big Bessie will also be providing frequency control ancillary services (FCAS).
Barry O’Rourke, member for Rockhampton, said in a media statement the battery’s location near Gracemere puts it near one of the top-50 solar postcodes in Queensland.
According to SQ’s Solar In Your Location tool, in Gracemere’s postcode area (4702), more than 5,278 small-scale systems have been installed with a collective capacity of 30,434 kW as of May 31, 2023. That’s 45 solar panel systems per 100 dwellings – the Australian average is 34.
“This grid-scale battery will take renewable energy produced from local rooftop solar PV and other nearby wind and solar farms, and release when needed–delivering even more reliable, cheaper and cleaner energy for Central Queenslanders,” O’Rourke said.
Powerlink CEO Paul Simshauser noted that the company had added a 132kV substation bay to Bouldercombe to accommodate the battery.
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That local energy loop neatly sidesteps the ongoing glaring deficiency in HV network transport capacity, while also helping fill the first 4 hours after sunset. Every (belated) new step is extremely welcome. Now we just desperately need a repeat every week for the next twenty years, I figure. Still, taking FCAS and price peaks from the fossil burners has to be a big nail in their coffins. (And a sliver of a nail from ours)
Having watched this climate experiment for more than 30 years, I wince at the price we’ll pay long before 48 degC is the coolest summer in Italy in a century, but must admit that three decades back, we would have had to go nuclear to try to fix the problem then. A bullet dodged.
It’s just that the Siberian building collapses due to melting permafrost, and the 60m deep melt gully, which the locals call “The gateway to the underworld”, adding to the big methane craters, seem to indicate that the permafrost tipping point has already been reached. I’ve long figured on 2m sealevel rise by 2100, but if it’s less than 4m, it’ll only be through going on a war footing to cut emissions. How many hundred million boat people then?
“Stay under 1.5 degC rise” was wise advice, but we’ll clip that within 4 years, and even if we capped every oil well and coalmine, the overshoot from forest fires and peat dessication will help drive further permafrost melting, rotting, and methane emission on a gigantic scale.
It’s good that teachers are now to be taught effective teaching technique, in an effort which is reducing student literacy problems from 42% to 4%, because we will need competent workers. We will need to fight the alligators, while attempting to drain the swamp. Interesting times, to be sure.
That the plots for Antarctic sea ice area, and northern hemisphere SST both jumped out of the normal zones this year, might evidence a tipping point?
We’ll find out. 😉
When we look at domestic solar systems we generally want an estimated pay back time. Not so much for off grid. How is the break even time worked out with these grid scale systems ? I’m assuming all parties are there to make a profit as well as provide a service.
“more than 7600 Telsa Powerwalls. ”
That’s a typo, should be Tesla.
“The battery is expected to generate 27,375MWh each year”
Technically the battery isn’t generating anything.
It would be storing up and then discharging electricity to the grid that’s generated from (solar panels?)
And the battery would be doing the other things that keep the power grid more stable.
It is the equivalent of nearly 8,009 Powewalls, but what is the cost of one vs. the other?
Thanks for the corrections – post updated.
I also noticed that – if it’s 100MWh – they must be Tesla Megapack 1.0 (2.5 MWh each).
That’s about 7600 x 13.2 kWh (Tesla claim 13.5 kWh per Powerwall at 25ºC).
Hardware cost of Powerwalls are about AU$1000 per kWh, Megapack 1.0s were about $700 per kWh.
I’m in the process of installing solar + Sungrow 9.6kWh battery which has a power rating of 5.76kW. The salesman explained that at full load I can expect 9.6 / 5.76 = 1 h 40 mins before the battery will need a recharge.
And my own calculations say that at 28c per kWh my battery can save me a maximum of 9.6 x 0.28 = $2.688 of grid powered electricity daily.
Am I right in saying that a 50MW/100MWh system like Big Bessie in Rockhampton will provide maximum power for 2 hours before needing a recharge? Which is 100,000 * 0.28 = $28,000 of electricity to be sold to consumers each day?
Somehow Big Bessie seems to provide nice arbitrage for its owner but it’s well short of deserving the title of grid scale renewable storage.
“Rockhampton residents will soon reap the benefits…”
Specifically, what benefits would those be?
Are they currently experiencing high levels of blackouts?
Will they be paid more for FiT?
Will tariffs be immediately reduced?