Going Nuts With Solar Power And Battery Storage

A major food and agri-business looks set to get a huge solar and battery storage system to help power its Australian almond production.

Olam Food Ingredients (ofi) is Australia’s largest producer of almonds, which it grows along the Murray River in the Sunraysia region of Northern Victoria and in New South Wales’ Riverina region. The almonds, processed in Mildura, are supplied to the domestic market and more than 15 other countries worldwide.

Olam Food Ingredients says it is committed to reducing its environmental footprint – and one of the ways it will do so is with solar power.

AGL Energy has announced it is partnering with the firm to build and operate a large-scale behind-the-meter PV power plant for the business.

The facility will boast a 6 MW solar power system and a 4.3 MWh battery. AGL says the project will generate up to 12,000 MWh of solar electricity annually – equivalent to the consumption of 2,200 average Australian households – while avoiding approximately 9,300 tonnes of CO2 equivalent each year.

“Projects like this demonstrate how energy and agricultural industries can work hand in hand to drive Australia’s energy transition while also supporting local economies and jobs in our regions,” said AGL Chief Customer Officer, Christine Corbett. “We are using the sun – one of the most valuable assets a farmer utilises – to help ofi ensure its food and fibre production continues to grow and prosper.”

The facility will also be connected to AGL’s Virtual Power Plant (VPP), a centrally-controlled network of PV and battery resources that includes household solar and storage systems.

“AGL’s VPP provides a large bank of controllable solar energy that helps to stabilise the electricity grid and further support a transition to a cleaner energy future,” said Ms. Corbett.

Assuming planning and network approvals are granted, the project is expected to be completed by late next year.

A Much Bigger Battery Approved

A 4.3MWh battery is pretty big, but it’s just a small fraction of the capacity of a much larger AGL energy storage project in the works.

On the weekend, AGL announced its proposed 500 MW/ 2,000 MWh grid-scale battery on the site of soon-to-be-closed coal fired clunker Liddell power station has been granted approval by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment.

The Liddell project is part AGL’s planned national rollout of 850 MW of grid-scale batteries, and will be an asset of Accel Energy – assuming AGL proceeds with its proposed demerger this year.

Smart EV Charger Rollout Completed

In other news from AGL, the company also announced it has completed 200 installations of electric vehicle smart chargers at homes across New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia.

The ARENA-backed Electric Vehicle Orchestration Trial seeks to accelerate the development of EV charging management and orchestration for the benefit of customers and the wider electricity system, while ensuring impacts on the electricity grid are minimised.

“Accelerating the uptake of EVs will be an integral technology pathway for decarbonising Australia’s economy, but without careful management we risk overloading the grid at peak times,” said Ms. Corbett.