The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said yesterday (3 December) that the new 750MW of energy storage capacity that has been commissioned to full output on the National Electricity Market (NEM) since September 2023 will play a key role in grid stability throughout the 2024-25 summer months.
In an update AEMO provided to the industry regarding the NEM’s summer outlook, the 58% rise in available battery energy storage system (BESS) capacity will help balance the grid during what is anticipated to be another hot summer for Australia, similar to last year which was deemed to be the country’s third-hottest summer on record.
The BESS figure appears low, considering that the Waratah Super Battery alone in New South Wales is 850MW and was energised in September, so AEMO’s definition for the figure may be a narrow one.
Alongside energy storage, other renewable energy generation technologies are expected to have full output this summer. This includes over 1GW of solar PV and 940MW of wind. Combining this with the new battery energy storage capacity means Australia will have an additional 3,175MW of renewable energy and storage capacity this year.
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This is also to be aided by an additional capacity set to come online before the end of the year, with AEMO indicating that around 750MW should be added.
In what could be seen as a warning signal for the NEM, on one of the final days of Spring (27 November), the 1,680MWh Waratah Super Battery, which completed its energisation in early September, was called upon to prevent widespread blackouts in New South Wales during a heatwave.
AEMO issued a notice calling on the battery energy storage system (BESS) to maintain 96MWh of energy storage to the NEM from 3pm to 7pm.
Alongside the Waratah Super Battery, Iberdrola Australia, a sub-division of Spanish utility giant Iberdrola, was called upon to ensure its smaller 50MW/75MWh Wallgrove BESS in Western Sydney could maintain 59MWh of energy storage from 2:30pm to 7pm. This was cancelled early at 4:45pm.
AEMO, in its Summer outlook, stated that it has developed procedures to manage minimum system load conditions. These conditions can occur during sunny days with mild temperatures and low electricity demand, particularly on weekends or public holidays when usage is generally reduced.
AEMO’s executive general manager of Operations, Michael Gatt, said that months of preparation have been undertaken to support the reliability of Australia’s power systems over the summer period.
“In the last week of spring, challenging operational conditions emerged in New South Wales, with limited localised issues and no widespread customer impacts,” Gatt said.
“Batteries played an important role in managing that situation, so it is pleasing that ahead of summer available battery generation has grown by 58% across the NEM.”
AEMO will work with businesses to manage planned transmission and generation outages for necessary maintenance.
“Should high electricity demand coupled with unplanned transmission and generation outages threaten reliability, recalling outages may be required,” Gatt said.
In August, AEMO published the 2024 NEM Electricity Statement of Opportunities, forecasting possible reliability gaps in New South Wales (265 MW), South Australia (200 MW) and Victoria (10 MW) this summer.
In response, AEMO is tendering for Interim Reliability Reserves (IRR) to address the gaps in New South Wales and South Australia.
Emergency reserve providers are also on standby to address short-notice requirements across the NEM.
Collie and Kiwnana BESS to provide 425MW to WEM
In Western Australia, a separate grid, the Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM), is also set to be aided by the use of energy storage.
On the Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM), the availability of synchronous generation is anticipated to be comparable to last summer. Once they are fully operational, the Collie and Kwinana 2 BESS will have a combined capacity of approximately 425MW. Additionally, AEMO has stated that Muja 6, a coal-fired power plant with a capacity of 190MW, will be in ‘reserve outage mode’ until its retirement on April 1, 2025.
To fill a residual shortfall identified for the upcoming summer, AEMO is tendering for up to 285 MW in supplementary capacity, with contracts to take effect from 1 December 2024.
“We’ve had a strong response to the supplementary capacity tender, and once we have finished negotiating those contracts, AEMO will publish the amount procured,” Gatt said.
