A new energy storage system developed by University of Adelaide researchers and industry partners is now successfully supporting the electricity network for the country town of Cape Jervis, South Australia.
The new, world-class system is part of a $3.65 million trial led by the University of Adelaide in collaboration with SA Power Networks and system supplier PowerTec. The project is supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) on behalf of the Australian Government with $1.44 million in grant funding.
The mobile battery energy storage system and its specialised control system reduces peak load of the local substation, stabilises the electricity network in the area, and supports a number of nearby customers in the event of a power interruption – all without manual intervention.
The battery receives control signals from high-voltage electricity infrastructure more than 5km away at the main powerline to the town of Cape Jervis, and makes its own decisions about how best to support local electricity delivery.
“This technology is novel because the mobile battery energy storage system’s operations are now completely autonomous,” said Associate Professor Nesimi Ertugrul, from the University of Adelaide’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
“If an outage occurs, our mobile battery system automatically runs a range of safety checks before providing back-up power to nearby houses until the main grid is restored.
“This feature means that residents can also share residential solar power with neighbours during an outage.
“This autonomous battery system has many unique and advanced features. We can monitor the system and intervene if necessary, but the system can operate safely in all kinds of situations without the need for any operator instructions,” Associate Professor Ertugrul said.
“It also allows us to understand the technology under real operating and weather conditions, and gives us the potential to create a knowledge base for industry and system developers.”
The South Australian Minister for Energy and Mining, Dan van Holst Pellekaan, welcomed the commissioning of the battery as an example of how energy storage can be help make our system more affordable and reliable.
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