Ørsted’s first standalone battery energy storage system has now entered operation.

The 20MW battery, located in Carnegie Road, Liverpool, consists of three battery units as well as a power conversion system.

The firm said infrastructure of this kind is vital to help balance the UK’s electricity grid by ensuring consumption matches the amount of power generated at any given moment.

Highly flexible batteries can quickly respond to grid requirements and are seen as a valuable component of a modern, decarbonised energy system.

Matthew Wright, UK Managing Director at Ørsted, said: “Climate change is a real and pressing threat to our planet and in order to minimise its effects, we urgently need to decarbonise our electricity system.

“Batteries and other innovative storage technologies will form a critical part of an integrated green energy system required to ensure we keep the lights on without harming our planet.”

The project is the first large energy storage facility built by EMC Lendlease, the joint venture between Energy Made Clean, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Carnegie, and Lendlease, an engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) provider. As the module supplier, Risen Energy provided more than 30,000 mono-crystalline modules to the facility.

The modules have been tested by Clean Energy Associates, an American owned and operated global solar PV engineering and quality assurance technical services advisory firm, and are highly adaptable to the local climate conditions in Western Australia in that they can maintain stable power output in hot and dry environments and ensure a high ROI by reducing costs.

The 25-hectare PV power station has now been fully connected to the grid and is estimated to be capable of generating 24 GWh of clean electricity over the next 25 years.

According to the latest data from the China Photovoltaic Industry Association (CPIA), module exports by Chinese PV manufacturers maintained growth during the first ten months of 2018, with the proportion of exports to Australia climbing from 6.0 in 2017 to 10.7 percent. Risen Energy has successfully exported its modules to Australia but also participated in the construction of many large power stations across the country, in full compliance with local standards for project design and development. Among the several projects, Yarranlea, in which Risen Energy played an important role, was specifically pointed out for praise by Dr. Anthony Lynham, Queensland Minister for Natural Resources, Mines and Energy.

Li Bin, general manager of Risen Energy Australia, said, “Our steady expansion in Australia is driven by the company’s innovative products and technologies which can meet the needs of consumers in different regions. Looking ahead, our company plans to invest in renewable energy projects totaling over 2GW in Australia and will continue to expand in the energy storage sector. As for some upcoming acquisitions, we are in the process of seeking financing or EPC partners as well as looking for co-developers.”

2018 is over, and a new year of energy evolution is upon us.

The past year laid a robust foundation for growth in 2019. It ended with six states and territories, including two of the three largest state economies, committing to 100 percent clean electricity. The solar industry weathered the much-feared tariffs without excessive bleeding. The list of cleantech failures was much shorter than in previous years.

There’s still plenty of room to grow. Solar only accounts for 1.3 percent of U.S. electricity generation, and wind produces 6.3 percent. Grid edge technologies are helping the grid adapt, but they’re still in limited real world use.

Keeping in mind that contrast between heady potential and modest achievement so far, we shall venture into the prediction game to identify key clean energy developments to come over the new year.

More states commit to clean
GTM’s Emma Foehringer Merchant dubbed 2018 the year of 100 percent clean energy. Watch for another waves of jurisdictions to follow the past year’s trailblazers.

In 2018, California joined Hawaii in legislatively committing to a carbon-free electricity system. Governors in New Jersey, New York and Puerto Rico made their own executive commitments to that end. Washington, D.C.’s city council passed a target of 100 percent renewables by 2032.

For a while, debates over 100 percent clean energy policy broke down into intellectual tribalism, as different factions jostled over who had the better vision for a clean energy future. Meanwhile, skeptics could dismiss the whole exercise as a folly.

Once economic and demographic powerhouses like California and New York got on board, it became exceedingly difficult to dismiss the policy as a fairy tale. Suddenly, passing the target switched from seeming intractably difficult to eminently achievable; following through is now the hard part.