| From: Eric | 4/13/2024 7:21:29 AM | | | | | | CATL unveils first mass-producible battery storage with zero degradation
China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. (CATL) has launched its new TENER energy storage product, which it describes as the world’s first mass-producible 6.25 MWh storage system, with zero degradation in the first five years of use.
April 12, 2024 Marija Maisch
The 6.25 MWh TENER energy storage system is packed in a standard TEU container.
Image: CATL
Share
    
Battery industry heavyweight CATL has unveiled its latest innovation in energy storage system design with enhanced energy density and efficiency, as well as zero degradation for both power and capacity.
Its new TENER product achieves 6.25 MW capacity in a 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) container, increasing the energy density per unit area by 30% and reducing the overall station footprint by 20% compared to its previous 5 MWh containerized energy storage system. For example, a 200 MWh TENER power station would cover an area of 4,465 square meters.
According to CATL, TENER cells achieve an energy density of 430 Wh/L, which it says is “an impressive milestone for lithium iron phosphate (LFP) batteries used in energy storage.”
CATL describes TENER as the world's first mass-producible energy storage system with zero degradation in the first five years of use. Leveraging biomimetic solid electrolyte interphase (SEI) and self-assembled electrolyte technologies, it says that TENER enables unobstructed movement of lithium ions and achieves zero degradation for both power and capacity.
This represents a significant advancement in increasing the lifespan of batteries and creates the much coveted “ageless” energy storage system, at least in the first years of the system’s operation.
On the safety front, CATL has also introduced a few improvements.
“Powered by cutting-edge technologies and extreme manufacturing capabilities, CATL has resolved the challenges caused by highly active lithium metals in zero-degradation batteries, which effectively helps prevent thermal runaway caused by oxidation reaction,” it said.
It has also established a dedicated, end-to-end quality management system that includes technology development, proof testing, operation monitoring, and safety failure analysis. It sets different safety goals as required by different scenarios, and then develops the corresponding safety technology to meet those goals. In addition, it has built a validation platform to simulate the safety test of energy storage systems in different power grid scenarios.
After a project is put into operation, CATL continues to monitor its operational status through AI-powered risk monitoring and an intelligent early warning system. It calculates the failure rate of energy storage products throughout their life cycle, and thus verifies the safety design goals while continuing to optimize them.
The manufacturer says it has reduced the failure rate to the PPB (single defect rate per billion) level for cells used in TENER, which, when extended to the operation throughout its full lifecycle, can lower operating costs and significantly enhance the internal rate of return. CATL also says that TENER is equipped with long service life, without specifying the warranty specs.
The Chinese battery maker has ranked first in market share of global energy storage battery shipments for three straight years, with a global market share of 40% in 2023. In its latest annual report, it said that its sales of energy storage battery systems hit 69 GWh in in 2023, representing a year-on-year increase of 46.81%.
pv-magazine.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 4/17/2024 12:30:20 PM | | | | | | Big batteries will undercut gas, but it’s hydro that might lose market share first
Image: EnergyAustralia. The Riverina and Darlington Point BESS.
David Leitch
Apr 17, 2024
9
Share via Email
Battery
Commentary
Storage
Utility battery power is going to grow from about 1.3 GW in the NEM to closer to 7 GW over the next 3 years. That is clearly going to have an impact on wholesale prices. That 7 GW represents about 25 per cent of the 26 GW of average peak evening demand between (QLD time) 6pm to 8pm.
Peak wholesale electricity prices are currently set by hydro and gas, more often hydro, but when gas does set the price it may be higher than the hydro price (see Figure 7).
Once the batteries are built they will have capacity roughly equal to what gas and hydro together dispatch on average at dinnertime. See Figure 5. Of course there is generally lots of spare gas and hydro capacity beyond what is dispatched.
The fundamental view is that batteries, gas and hydro will compete for market share. Unlike hydro, which is a tight oligopoly and even gas where much of the capacity is held by Origin, Snowy Hydro, AGL and EnergyAustralia, batteries will initially be owned and operated by a wide variety of players.
Like every other market the big guys will try to consolidate market share, but barriers to entry are low, provided you can navigate the connection rules.
Gas requires that capacity be reserved on the transmission line for every half hour of the year, just in case. That’s why the gas is owned by the gas retailers, they rent the pipes anyway.
And Snowy and Southern Hydro typically have strictly limited storage and so they ration supply. Batteries have few restrictions, only the limited number of cyles over their lifetime. But batteries are also incentivised to get a return before a cheaper capital cost battery turns up. So they will want their revenue from day 1.
What will another 20% of peak supply do to peak wholesale prices? I expect more total supply will also lower price. Wind supply tends to impact every half hour of the day, against which must be set the closure of Eraring in the near terms.
Figure 1: daily average prices at dinner time. Source:NEM Review
I’d argue that prices at 18:00 could fall even $100/MWh over the next couple of years as the batteries come on line.
Overall I think that average fuly year flat load prices could fall by $10-$15/MWh as a result of the new battery supply. The fall in peak prices might be partly offset by a rise in midday prices. Whether it is will largely depend on when Eraring is closed.
Figure 2: fuel weighted prices. Source: NEM Review
Traditionally, with the exception of hydro the SRMC (short run marginal cost) has been driven by the fuel cost. Brown coal fuel cost is lower than black coal and so is dispatched first.
Gas has a much higher fuel cost but a lower capital cost and so gas plants sit in reserve and only operate for a couple of hours a day. Hydro has pretty much zero SRMC, but outside Tasmania there is a limited quantity which is generally held back for the highest price periods.
Then along comes variable renewable energy (VRE), except that really the solar is not all that variable. The impact of solar is obvious, it kills price in the middle of the day. The more so because coal has to keep running.
The impact of wind is best seen in South Australia:
Looking at the average day, price spikes around 6:30 – 7:30 pm.
Figure 3: SA average day. Source: NEM Review So how much impact does the wind share have on that peak price?
Figure 4: wind share v price at dinnertime in Sth Aust. Source: NEM Review
Figure 4 was derived by taking taking the wind share in the 6:30 – 8:00 PM window for every day in the past 3 years then making 100 bins of the wind share sorted from highest to lowest and looking at the median price for each bin.
It provides a clearer picture, to my way of thinking, than a standard correlation graph. Just as you might expect the less the wind blows at dinner time the higher the price tends to be. Other factors can also set the price of course so that even when the wind share is 100% price need not be zero or negative.
More wind means lower prices Unfortunately, other than in South Australia wind share of demand is relatively low, only about 13% across the NEM over the past year, with a low of 4% in QLD and a high of 47% in South Australia. QLD is changing that but NSW with a share of 9% is very slow.
So we cant rely on more wind lowering prices materially in the next few years. Therefore we turn to batteries.
Across the NEM supply between 6:00 PM and 8:00 PM is:
Figure 5: NEM dinnertime demand. Source:NEM Review
Note that demand is also dropping as the last of the solar drops off. Over those half hours demand falls by 1 GW.
Into this mix we are adding at least 5 and actually it will be closer to 6 GW of batteries, all of which will be incentivised by peak prices.
Figure 6: Batteries under construction. Source: Renewmap
Significant battery capacity is reserved for purposes other than trading. Even that reserved capacity may have an impact on price but I don’t consider that further here. Say trading capacity of 4.5 GW of what I expect in 3 years time will be not 5.4 but 6 GW of new batteries is available for discharge in peak demand.
Because the batteries will charge from solar in the middle of the day, even in winter, they will have a lower fuel cost than coal, and gas. In the first instance batteries can compete against hydro and gas. In NSW and Victoria it may well be Snowy Hydro and AGL’s Southern Hydro that feel the pressure.
After all, and particularly in winter, it’s Snowy Hydro and Southern Hydro that cherry pick prices.
Figure 7: price settin fuel, Jun qtr. Source: AEMO
In Figure 7 it’s already clear that batteries have a role to play in setting price, most visibly in QLD, but hydro dominates. Hydro and gas both tend to bid above $150/MWh.
In theory 4.5 GW of batteries could displace 100% of 2.9 GW of gas demand, but I somehow doubt they will as some gas will be required to keep running, such as in South Australia.
The batteries could even eat into say 1 GW of coal supply on top of not requiring any gas. At least that is what the supply and demand numbers suggest could happen.
As shown in Figure 2 batteries have not so far competed with gas, at least not in States which are short on energy, and that means NSW and QLD. Equally though it could be that batteries are undercutting gas in South Australia and Victoria because that is where there are already more MW of battery installation.
Figure 8: Operating batteries. Source: RenewMap
And of course the existing batteries will themselves need to be dispatched.
Operators of batteries have other revenue opportunities in the frequency control market. This may mean they are less incentisied to use up capacity in the trading market. Even so I expect they will.
Battery operators need to pay attention to the fact that battery costs are falling all the time. This means that battery owners are incentivised to get a payback on their battery as quickly as possible before they are undercut by some b**tard with a lower cost piece of kit.
Figure 9: battery growth. Source:RMI
Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit
reneweconomy.com.au |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 4/22/2024 9:36:22 AM | | | | | | The role of energy storage systems in the electrification movement
This Earth Month is the ideal time to highlight the trend toward electrification and offer businesses and homeowners a viable path to get there.
April 22, 2024 Jim Brown
Image: LG ESS
Share
    
Earth Month reminds us that the move from fossil fuels to electrification continues to gain momentum through incentives and regulations, and it’s inspired by companies and homeowners who are committed to reducing their carbon footprint. Another strong motivator for businesses and consumers is the opportunity to introduce energy efficiencies that yield cost savings – such as heat pump-enabled Energy Star certified appliances that are ushering in the clean energy future.
This Earth Month is the ideal time to highlight the trend toward electrification and offer businesses and homeowners a viable path to get there.
Homeowners needs to be educated on the concept of electrification. A recent nationwide survey conducted by a third-party on behalf of LG Electronics USA surveyed 1,579 U.S. homeowners in January 2024. They found that only 16% of American homeowners are currently familiar with home electrification.
Given the number of appliances and whole-house systems in a typical residence – along with renewables including solar panels and EV chargers in a growing number of households – the road to electrification can be overwhelming.
A logical starting point is investing in an energy storage system (ESS). It’s a move that applies to existing users of PV products and can be an attractive stepping-stone for those who may be thinking about or planning to install solar for their home or acquire electric vehicles in the future.
The nationwide survey also reports that among homeowners with residential solar, 25% currently have an ESS while 80% of those who do not yet have one say it is a future priority; 12% say it’s the number one priority.
ESS advantages
Tying a home’s energy footprint together with an energy storage system is an excellent step toward electrification that allows the homeowner to realize a number of tangible collateral benefits beyond reducing emissions from fossil fuel-based energy sources. It enables homeowners to manage their energy and take control of its use.
It’s smart to guide homeowners to understand that the ESS can be used independently from the grid and can charge during the daytime when electricity prices are lower. Stored energy can then be utilized during peak consumption hours when prices increase in many geographic regions.
It’s important for homeowners to know that an ESS can provide backup power which can be essential in the case of power outages. In fact, the nationwide survey revealed that 67% of U.S. homeowners experienced a power outage in the past year and half of them experienced multiple outages, some lasting hours or longer. In certain ESS models an LED display on the front of the system allows owners to check the estimated battery state of charge and encourages mindfulness of electricity use during power outages.
Advances in technology and design have made the ESS a more versatile and attractive alternative to the traditional backup generator. An all-in-one integrated system is incorporated into a complete smart home environment with appliances, electronics and HVAC systems. Management systems that allows the user to delegate how, where, and when the unit’s stored energy is used to maximize efficiency gives homeowners the ability to achieve pure independence from the grid, providing them with better control in managing their home energy needs.
This point is especially relevant to the surveyed homeowners who have expressed frustration over grid instability and concerns over the impact of extreme weather events.
Despite the need to educate the public at large on the benefits of ESS, the nationwide survey found that homeowners seeking to overcome the challenges of grid instability with an ESS are most interested in lowering their energy costs (90%). They also identify other appealing benefits of battery-powered ESS, including uninterrupted power supply (89%), less dependency on the utility (86%), potential to sell the energy back to the utility (84%), environmental benefits/sustainability (82%), and less dependency on fossil fuels (82%).
Incentives abound
In speaking with potential ESS customers, it makes sense to emphasize that investment in home electrification is rewarded by federal and state incentives. Residential ESS installations currently qualify for up to a 30% tax investment credit through the Inflation Reduction Act – a provision that not everyone knows will be in effect until 2033.
In addition, the U.S. Department of Energy has provided $8.8 billion in state funding for Home Electrification Rebates; these are expected to become available this year.
For business owners, a state-of-the-art, long-lifespan commercial ESS solution provides an all-in-one solution equipped with ready-to-deploy technology from storage with ESS, management with the PMS, and complementary systems such as HVAC. Commercial ESS can also qualify for up to a 30% tax credit through 2025.
The impetus can come from you
Interested homeowners are learning about ESS through various means: their own research, published news coverage on trends, products and incentives, and by speaking with neighbors and installers. Our research shows that homeowners want to be smarter about energy usage, fueled not only by a sense of responsibility to the planet but by the grim reality of rising energy costs. Two-thirds of our nationwide survey respondents reported rate hikes over the past year.
Those in the energy industry need to take the responsibility to help homeowners learn how to better manage their energy consumption and set them on a journey toward energy independence. By doing so, we can earn a position as a lifelong energy partner to our clientele. In the survey, two-thirds of those prioritizing ESS cited “a brand I can trust” as a highly important factor in their impending buying decision. Words to the wise during Earth Month 2024.
Jim Brown is senior manager, national sales, LG Electronics ESS. An industry veteran, Jim leads residential ESS business development in the United States for global innovator LG Electronics.
pv-magazine-usa.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 4/23/2024 3:15:49 PM | | | | | | NSW battery materials company plans U.S. manufacturing plant
Australian battery materials technology company Sicona has confirmed it will develop its first commercial manufacturing facility in the United States as part of its ambition to become the biggest producer of silicon-carbon battery materials in the world.
April 23, 2024 David Carroll
Image: Sicona Battery Technologies
Share
    
Wollongong-based Sicona Battery Technologies, which is developing a silicon composite material that improves the performance of batteries used for electric vehicles (EVs) and energy grids, announced it is moving forward with the development of a production plant in the southeast of the United States to take advantage of the booming battery and EV market.
It is anticipated the U.S. plant, the exact location of which is yet to be revealed, will initially be capable of producing about 6,700 tonnes per annum (tpa) of silicon-carbon anode material, before scaling up to a total output of 26,500 tpa by the early 2030s.
“Sicona’s vision is to be the largest silicon-carbon battery materials producer in the world and today’s announcement is the first major step towards the realisation of that goal,” Sicona co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Andrew Minnet said.
“We believe by going mass scale with our technology we can have maximum impact on increasing the adoption of electric vehicles. This is because our product has a real impact on the charge time of an electric vehicle or how far you can drive your EV before recharging, which are two major factors holding people back from buying an EV.”
Sicona, which has its headquarters and a pilot plant in Wollongong on the New South Wales coast, said its current generation silicon-graphite composite anode materials “supercharge” lithium-ion batteries, delivering a 20%-plus increase in energy density over conventional graphite-only battery cells and reducing charge times by more than 40%.
The Australian company said establishing a commercial-scale advanced manufacturing plant in the U.S. will enable it to serve customers in that market with Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) compliant materials supply. It is anticipated demand for anode materials in the U.S market will exceed 1,200 GWh by 2030.
Sicona said it has already started supplying product samples and begun offtake discussions with potential customers in the U.S. with qualification activities expected to ramp up significantly in the coming 18 months.
Sicona co-founders Dr Andrew Minnet and Christiaan JordaanImage: Sicona
The exact location of the planned new manufacturing facility has not yet been revealed but Sicona said it will be sited in the nation’s southeast “near the geographic heart of the growing U.S. battery and EV manufacturing hub.”
The company said engineering and construction firm Bechtel has completed a front-end engineering design study and it will now push ahead with the phased development of the production plant.
Sicona’s announcement comes on the same day that the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) called for feedback on the design of the federal government’s $1 billion Solar Sunshot domestic manufacturing program.
The IRA-style initiative will see the government funding production subsidies and grants to boost the development of Australia’s solar manufacturing industry and increase the nation’s role in the global solar manufacturing supply chain.
pv-magazine-australia.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 4/25/2024 9:35:43 AM | | | | | | Sodium-ion battery could charge in several seconds
Researchers at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST) have identified a high-energy, high-power hybrid sodium-ion battery capable of charging in just a few seconds. The system integrates anode materials typically used in batteries with cathodes suitable for supercapacitors.
April 25, 2024 Marija Maisch
Synthetic procedures of high-capacity/high-rate anode and cathode materials for sodium-ion hybrid energy storage and proposed energy storage mechanisms
Image: KAIST
Share
Sodium-ion energy storage systems have garnered a lot of attention due to their superior safety, raw material costs, and environmental credentials compared to ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries. However, the technology is likely to challenge the incumbent only once costs are reduced by improving technical performance, establishing supply chains, and achieving economies of scale.
There are two types of sodium-ion energy storage systems: sodium-ion batteries and sodium-ion capacitors. The first are hindered by their poor rechargeability due to their low power density, while providing relatively high energy density. The latter, on the other hand, display high power density, but extremely low energy density. Hence, combining capacitor-type cathodes and battery-type anodes in sodium-ion hybrid energy storage (SIHES) cells has been an active area of research, bringing together the best of both worlds.
Now, KAIST researchers have reported a strategy to realize ultra-high-energy density and fast-rechargeable SIHES systems. They have utilized two distinct metal-organic frameworks for the optimized synthesis of hybrid batteries.
Their approach led to the development of an anode material with improved kinetics through the inclusion of fine active materials in porous carbon derived from metal-organic frameworks. Additionally, a high-capacity cathode material was synthesized, and the combination of the cathode and anode materials allowed for the development of a SIHES system, optimizing the balance and minimizing the disparities in energy storage rates between the electrodes.
The researchers have reported that the newly developed hybrid surpasses the energy density of commercial lithium-ion batteries and exhibits the characteristics of supercapacitors' power density.
Namely, the SIHES demonstrated an energy density of 247 Wh/kg and a fast-rechargeable power density of 34,748 W/kg, exceeding battery-type reactions by more than 100 folds. It also demonstrated cycle stability with around 100 % Coulombic efficiency over 5,000 charge-discharge cycles.
The KAIST researchers anticipate broad applications for their new SIHES technology, ranging from electric vehicles to smart electronic devices and aerospace technologies.
They discussed their findings in “Low-crystallinity conductive multivalence iron sulfide-embedded S-doped anode and high-surface-area O-doped cathode of 3D porous N-rich graphitic carbon frameworks for high-performance sodium-ion hybrid energy storages,” which was recently published in Energy Storage Materials.
pv-magazine.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 4/26/2024 3:17:34 PM | | | | | | IEA calls for sixfold expansion of global energy storage capacity
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has issued its first report on the importance of battery energy storage technology in the energy transition. It has found that tripling renewable energy capacity by 2030 would require 1,500 GW of battery storage.
April 26, 2024 Marija Maisch
The Powin Centipede battery energy storage platform.
Image: Powin LLC
Share
From pv magazine Global
Batteries need to lead a sixfold increase in global energy storage capacity to enable the world to meet 2030 targets, after deployment in the power sector more than doubled last year, the IEA said in its first assessment of the state of play across the entire battery ecosystem. In this scenario, battery energy storage systems would account for 90% of the increase and pumped hydro for most of the rest.
In its “Batteries and Secure Energy Transitions” report, the Paris-based watchdog described batteries as critical to delivering the climate and energy targets outlined at the COP28 climate conference in Dubai. It said that growth in batteries outpaced almost all other clean energy technologies in 2023, driven by falling costs, innovation, and supportive industrial policies.
Strong growth occurred for utility-scale battery projects, behind-the-meter batteries, minigrids and solar home systems, adding a total of 42 GW of battery storage capacity throughout the world, up by more than 130% year on year. Meanwhile, electric vehicle (EV) battery deployment increased by 40% in 2023, with 14 million new electric cars, accounting for the vast majority of batteries used in the energy sector.
“Despite the continuing use of lithium-ion batteries in billions of personal devices in the world, the energy sector now accounts for over 90% of annual lithium-ion battery demand,” the IEA report said. “This is up from 50% for the energy sector in 2016, when the total lithium-ion battery market was 10-times smaller.”
In less than 15 years, battery costs have fallen by more than 90% – one of the fastest declines ever seen in clean energy technologies. Nonetheless, the report found that costs need to come down further without compromising quality and technology to globally scale up batteries.
The expectation is that further innovation in battery chemistries and manufacturing could reduce global average lithium-ion battery costs by another 40% from 2023 to 2030 and bring sodium-ion batteries to the market. The IEA said that sodium-ion batteries would account for less than 10% of EV batteries to 2030, but they would make up a growing share of stationary storage batteries, as their costs are 30% lower than those of lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) batteries.
“The combination of solar PV and batteries is today competitive with new coal plants in India. And just in the next few years, it will be cheaper than new coal in China and gas-fired power in the United States. Batteries are changing the game before our eyes,” said IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol.
The cost cuts also make standalone battery storage more competitive with natural gas peaking options, the IEA report said.
In the most ambitious scenario, total spending on batteries across all applications is set to increase to $800 billion by 2030, up almost 400% from 2023. This means doubling the share of batteries in overall clean energy investment within seven years.
Global battery manufacturing has more than tripled over the last three years. While China produces most batteries today, the report showed that 40% of all announced plans for new battery manufacturing are in advanced economies such as the United States and the European Union.
“If all those projects are built, those economies would have nearly enough manufacturing to meet their own needs to 2030 on the path to net zero emissions,” said the report.
pv-magazine-usa.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 4/29/2024 10:11:14 AM | | | | | | Macquarie’s battery storage offshoot to build its first four hour project in Japan
Image Credit: Eku Energy
Joshua S Hill
Apr 29, 2024
1
Share via Email
Battery Storage
Eku Energy, a global energy storage specialist jointly owned by Macquarie Asset Management and BCI, has announced plans to build a 30 MW, four hour battery storage project in Japan, the company’s first in the country.
The Hirohara Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is set to be built in Oaza Hirohara, Miyazaki City, Miyazaki Prefecture on southern Japan’s Kyushu Island.
The 30MW/120MWh project – will be Eku’s first such project in Japan. Eku Energry will maintain ownership of the project but has already signed a 20-year offtake agreement with Japan’s largest natural gas utility, Tokyo Gas.
Construction is expected to get underway in the second half of the year with operations expected to commence by the middle of 2026.
“?The Hirohara battery energy storage system is Eku Energy’s first project in Japan set to reach financial close and our latest global project that combines our global energy storage specialisation coupled with our deep local presence,” said Daniel Burrows, head of Eku Energy APAC.
“We are pleased to be partnering with Tokyo Gas as offtaker as we together accelerate the energy transition. The policy settings in Japan support investment in battery energy storage and are compatible with delivering safe, secure and reliable green energy in a cost-effective manner to energy consumers, which is our mission.”
Eku Energy currently boasts a project portfolio totalling 4.6GWh across four countries – Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, and now Japan.
It built the first big battery to be completed at the site of a former coal fired power generator, the 150MW/150MWh Hazlewood battery that is now operation, and is building the 200MW/400MWh first stage of the Rangebank battery in Victoria, and the 250MW/500MWh Williamsdale battery in the ACT.
reneweconomy.com.au
Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 4/29/2024 11:43:46 AM | | | | | | New big battery trumps solar farms to become top earner for Genex as it cashes in on market volatility
Bouldercombe big battery. Source: Genex.
Sophie Vorrath
Apr 29, 2024
2
Share via Email
Solar
Storage
Genex Power’s brand new Bouldercombe battery has quickly become the company’s biggest earner, with the 50 MW, two hour battery easily trumping the revenue earned by the company’s two operating 50 MW solar projects.
The company announced on Monday that the Bouldercombe battery earned $4.2 million of net revenue in its first full quarter of operations, after dispatching 7,152MWh of energy to the Queensland grid for an average price of $385 per megawatt-hour.
The battery, which only switched on in December last year, is the star of what Genex describes as a “very solid” quarter of revenue, totalling $9.6 million.
Another $2 million was contributed by the 50 MW Kidston solar farm in Queensland (which enjoyed a boost in its average price received of $80/MWh) and $3.4 million from the Jemalong solar farm in NSW (average price $97/MWh).
That brings the company’s total revenue for the 2024 financial year to $20 million, which is above the prior corresponding period of $19.6 million.
Genex CEO Craig Francis says the company has been “delighted” with the start made by the battery in Rockhampton, in central Queensland, which he says captured the “significant volatility” observed in wholesale electricity markets.
Francis says the Boudlercombe battery has a 20 year warranty and operations and maintenance contracts with Tesla, which means if it breaks – or catches fire – they fix it. It has also got a Tesla offtake over a term of eight years, which Francis describes as “quite an innovative, fixed and floating off-take structure.”
“Tesla is operating the plant at the moment using their autobidder algorithmic bidding technology to operate in the … control ancillary services markets and every five minutes optimising the dispatch of the plan to maximise revenue,” he said.
“They also provide us with a revenue floor guarantee and in exchange for operating the plant and providing that guarantee we share a portion of the upside.”
Source: Genex Power
Genex CFO Patrick McCarthy told an investor briefing on Monday that, while it’s difficult to predict future revenue from batteries – given the “lumpy” nature of the markets they operate in – the company had settled on a guidance of $12-$15 million a year from Bouldercombe.
“Going forward, we’re looking towards more the energy arbitrage revenue streams rather than the frequency events – and that’s just the way the market has moved as of late,” McCarthy told the webcast.
“The summer period from January to March is much higher revenues… [due to] higher volatility and higher demand for energy, you get those peak events,” he said.
“That comes off quite a bit in the in the autumn periods, but then in winter, again, we expect more volatility as higher demand picks up.
“So it is a bit lumpy – it’s a month-by-month forecast of revenues. But I think if we can kind of continue along that path, as we have been doing this last quarter, or a bit softer, we would be happy with that.”
The performance of Bouldercombe augurs well for Genex’s plans for the 400MW/1600MWh Bulli Creek big battery, which it is developing as part of a massive solar and storage hub in Queensland’s Toowoomba region.
Francis says the plan for the Bulli project is to start with the development of the first stage 775MW solar farm, including locking in a off-take deal for its output. He says the company is continuing offtake discussions with Fortescue and is confident of underpinning the solar farm.
“Those discussions are nearing conclusion which will enable us to commence the financing process imminently,” he told the webcast.
“If we were to kick that off with the battery – batteries having a much shorter procurement time – it’s likely we’d have a battery ready to plug in but no transmission infrastructure there.
“So it all works quite neatly, to focus on the solar first – to have that committed with the transmission infrastructure and the construction – and then the battery to follow in 2025 so that all all three projects… will be ready to connect into that infrastructure at about the same time.”
Meanwhile, energisation of the company’s flagship project, the 250MW/2,000MWh Kidston Pumped Storage Hydro Project (K2-Hydro), has been pushed out from the end of this year to the first quarter of 2025.
Francis says this delay is due to a minor setback in non-critical works and the company doesn’t expect it to affect the contractual completion date, which is still set for the first half of calendar 2025.
“We’ve got a $1.1 billion fully funded portfolio of 400MW and growing, and focused on a pretty large pipeline – 2.3GW of wind, solar and battery opportunities, over a gigawatt of which we’re looking to take to a final investment decision this year,” he said.
“We’ve got …what I think is a very attractive revenue profile, highly contracted – 83% of the 400MW contracted out to 2055 with strategic exposure to merchant scenarios, including large-scale generation certificates and, importantly, with Bouldercombe, market volatility.
“How we’re looking to model the portfolio going forward is to have a highly contracted portfolio but to take discrete exposure to merchant pricing where we think it’s, it’s attractive and that’s how we’ve been operating in the past as well with with our merchant exposure.”
reneweconomy.com.au
Share on Twitter Share on Facebook Share on Pinterest Share on LinkedIn Share on Reddit |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| From: Eric | 4/30/2024 5:21:38 PM | | | | | | Akaysha fast tracks 710 MWh of battery projects with new financing
Akaysha Energy has secured $250 million in new financing that will accelerate the development of two large-scale battery projects in Queensland set to add a combined 710 MWh of energy storage capacity to the National Electricity Market.
April 30, 2024 David Carroll
Image: Akaysha Energy
Share
American investment powerhouse BlackRock’s portfolio company Akaysha Energy announced the close of a $250 million (USD 163.9 million) debt raise that provides funding for the Ulinda Park and Brendale battery energy storage projects being developed in Queensland.
Construction has already commenced on the 155 MW / 300 MWh Ulinda Park battery system being built at Hopeland near Chinchilla in Queensland’s Western Downs region.
The 205 MW / 410 MWh Brendale battery is being developed in Brisbane’s northern suburbs. The site, owned by Unitywater, is next to the South Pine substation, the central node of Queensland’s electricity grid.
Melbourne-based Akaysha, acquired by investment giant Blackrock in 2022, said construction of the Brendale project, which will feature Tesla Megapack technology, is expected to start “imminently.”
U.S.-based equipment manufacturer Powin is supplying the battery technology for the Ulinda Park project while balance of plant for both projects is being delivered by Adelaide-headquartered Consolidated Power Projects (CPP).
Akaysha said the projects are expected to commence commercial operations in 2025.
The projects will provide ancillary services, such as energy arbitrage, contingency and regulation frequency control ancillary services (FCAS) to support the National Electricity Market (NEM) and its rapid expansion of solar and wind projects.
Charlie Reid, BlackRock’s co-head of climate infrastructure for Asia-Pacific, said the Ulinda Park and Brendale battery projects will significantly bolster the delivery of a stable supply of energy across the national grid.
“BlackRock has identified the transition to a low-carbon economy as one of the key mega forces driving investments around the world,” he said.
“It will likely require an investment of around USD 200 trillion in capital, presenting a substantial investment challenge.”
“This capital raise represents a significant step towards accelerating that transition, positioning Australia to establish itself as a global renewable superpower.”
Akaysha Managing Director of finance and investments Andrew Wegman said the financing will be pivotal “to supporting the energy transition and improving grid stability” as the company enters the construction phase of more than 4 GWh of energy storage projects.
“This financing unlocks capital to be recycled into the construction and development of Akaysha’s extensive pipeline of BESS projects in Australia and internationally,” he said.
Akaysha has a portfolio of nine projects proposed across the NEM, including the 850 MW / 1,680 MWh Waratah Super Battery being built at Lake Munmorah in New South Wales.
It is also developing the 415 MW / 1,660 MWh Orana battery near Wellington in central-west NSW, the 200 MW/800 MWh Elaine big battery in Victoria, the 100 MW/200 MWh Palmerston battery energy storage system in Tasmania, and the 200 MW/800 MWh Mobilong big battery in South Australia. The company has also announced plans to develop a 300 MW/1,200 MWh battery and 200 MWp solar farm near Brinkworth in South Australia’s mid-north region.
The new $250 million finance package, supported by a group of seven banks including the CBA, has a tenor of three years. The portfolio financing also provides more than $100 million of Letters of Credit to support the Ulinda Park and Brendale battery projects’ security obligations.
pv-magazine-australia.com |
| | Electron Energy Storage | Stock Discussion ForumsShare | RecommendKeepReplyMark as Last Read |
|
| |
