Carnegie Clean Energy has been awarded a $3 million grant from the South Australian Government to design, construct, operate and maintain a 2MW/500kWh Battery Energy Storage system (BESS) at the General Motors Holden Site in Elizabeth.
The grant has been awarded from the Renewable Technology Fund, part of the South Australian Government’s Energy Plan. The BESS will provide a unique demonstration of grid-support services in times of peak demand and will operate alongside the existing diesel fuelled back up generators at Elizabeth.
The facility offers key advantages of traditional diesel run gas turbines for grid support, offering significant savings in standby fuel consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, low maintenance, low noise pollution and faster response to grid support events.
The facility is based on Carnegie’s standardised two megawatt grid support BESS, capable of expansion up to the 10’s and 100’s of MW. Carnegie is also working closely with the new owner of the General Motors Holden Site to develop a rooftop solar system of initially three megawatt in capacity, which could be expanded to 10-15MW if deployed across the site’s available roof space.
Works will begin immediately on design and grid connection for the BESS, and are expected to complete by December 2018.
South Australian Premier, Jay Weatherill, said, “This solar and battery project by Carnegie is part of a wave of new investment in South Australia we have leveraged through the $150 million Renewable Technology Fund announced as part of our energy plan.
“Renewable energy projects like this also reduce demand on the grid during peak times, which puts downward pressure on power prices for all South Australians. This project is symbolic of the broader transition we are seeing in our economy away from traditional manufacturing towards high-tech industries creating jobs of the future for South Australians.”
Carnegie’s Managing Director, Dr Michael Ottaviano, said, “We are fielding an increasing number of opportunities that historically were performed by diesel or gas turbines, for which battery systems are now increasingly competitive. The CCE battery solution offers faster response time, lower operating cost, no greenhouse gas pollution, and silent operation. This is Carnegie’s first project in South Australia and means we are now delivering projects right across Australia.”
