Company Updates, Renewables, Solar, Storage

Lyon launches utility-scale battery storage market services tender

The Lyon Group has released a market-driven approach to determining the services that will be provided by a portfolio of its large-scale battery storage projects.

The company is seeking expressions of interest for contracts to cover up to 640MWh of storage capacity across Victoria, South Australia and Queensland.

Lyon’s battery storage market services tender includes a $660 million combined large-scale solar and battery storage project at Nowingi in north-west Victoria. Construction at Nowingi will start later this year.

“Lyon is able to offer multiple services from the same battery system, and flexibility in contract size to accommodate various users,” said Lyon Group partner David Green. “Lyon will enter into commercial contracts for real services provided by physical assets. This is not a theoretical exercise.”

Services that large-scale battery storage systems can provide include energy price arbitrage, load shifting, renewable energy ramp control, frequency control and ancillary services, caps, network control and system restart ancillary services, marginal loss factor services and firming capacity.

The outcome of the tender will influence the final engineering design of the projects’ battery storage systems. The approach is believed to be a world first.

The solar storage projects within the scope of the tender are Nowingi (Victoria), and the already announced Cape York (Queensland) and Riverland (South Australia).

“These projects are working through development consultation and approvals. The land has been secured, technology and other commercial arrangements are in place and the required network capacity analysis and consultations are well advanced. Lyon’s projects are 100% equity financed.

Green said the recent Finkel report into the future of Australia’s electricity market shone a spotlight on large-scale battery storage and its central role in the evolving energy system.

“Lyon’s battery storage market services tender is a reflection of the new energy world the Finkel Report describes. It is real and it is happening,” Green said. “The Finkel Report highlighted the importance of fast frequency response, which is delivered by large-scale battery storage more effectively than any other alternative.”

Nowingi Solar Storage’s 250MW solar generation will charge an 80MW/160MWh battery storage system, making it the world’s second biggest such project, after Lyon’s Riverland Solar Storage, which was announced in March this year.

“Nowingi Solar Storage will improve the security and reliability of a stretched part the grid and put downward pressure on electricity prices.”

 

 

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