In an Australian first, a battery energy storage system has been built to support the grid in times of peak demand, delaying expensive infrastructure and saving customers money. The two year trial will establish if batteries are a viable support option for the grid.

The battery energy storage system, known as the Grid Energy Storage System (GESS), is housed in four 20 foot shipping containers in the Thomastown industrial estate. It is owned by AusNet Services in partnership with ABB Australia and Samsung SDI.

AusNet Services Managing Director, Nino Ficca, said that the use of network storage may be the next frontier in demand management. “As an electricity distribution business, we’re committed to finding the right balance between safety, reliability and costs to our customers,” Mr Ficca said.

“As such, we focus on innovative solutions to provide our customers with a reliable supply on the handful of peak demand days each year, which importantly delays or offsets network upgrades.”

The 1MW battery energy storage system trial commenced in December 2014 and will provide local support to the grid in peak demand times and will recharge in the times when it is not needed. The battery energy system can operate for 1 hour at full power and supply around 300 homes.

The system also has a 1MW diesel generator and can transition to island mode to provide power as part of a mini grid when parts of the network become isolated. ABB states its PowerStore flywheel-based grid stabilizing generator’s main purpose is to stabilize power systems against fluctuations in frequency and voltage.

AusNet Services is Victoria’s largest energy delivery service, owning and operating approximately $11 billion of electricity and gas distribution assets that connect into more than 1.3 million Victorian homes and businesses. The assets they own include 49 terminal stations, 13,000 towers and 6,500 kilometres of high-voltage powerlines. Additionally, it owns 49,816 kilometres of powerlines and 380,000 power poles supplying electricity to 668,000 properties in Melbourne’s north east and across all of eastern Victoria.

Click here to read the full media release from AusNet Services.