Australian ‘grid-forming’ battery begins exporting to grid

Edify Energy has said its 185 MW/370 MWh Koorangie BESS, in northwest Victoria, has started exporting electricity to the grid and hold point testing is underway as the project works towards full generation. Hold points, determined by Australia’s National Electricity Market grid operator, are staged limits on how much of a project’s export capacity can be used until it is determined full operation will cause no issues.

The Koorangie project, designed and developed by Edify and owned by Italian energy infrastructure investor Sostoneo Infrastructure Partners, features Tesla Megapack batteries equipped with grid-forming inverter technology that enable the site to play a dual role by providing energy storage and grid reinforcement services. Koorangie’s grid-forming inverters will boost the amount of inverter-based resources, such as solar and wind power, that can be hosted in the Murray River region by up to 300 MW.

“The grid-forming inverters will allow the battery to replace the type of [electricity] system strength services that were once only provided by fossil-fuel generators,” said the Victorian state government. “This game-changing technology is a significant advancement in the transition to renewables as it further reduces the reliance on aging coal-fired generators.”

The Koorangie battery has secured a 20-year system support agreement with federal body the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to provide 125 MW of grid system strength services to improve network stability in the region.

The battery is also supported by a 15-year electricity offtake agreement with Shell Energy Australia.

The Victorian government has legislated storage targets of at least 2.6 GW by 2030 and at least 6.3 GW by 2035 – that would be enough renewable energy to power about half of Victoria’s homes at their current peak energy demand.

The Koorangie battery is the first investment in Australia for Sosteneo, which is backed by Italian-based Generali Investments, one of the world’s largest asset managers and insurance conglomerates. Sosteneo launched in September 2023 with a focus on equity investment in greenfield infrastructure projects related to the energy transition. Since then, its global portfolio has grown to more than 4 GWh of battery storage capacity that is under construction or operating, across three countries.

From pv magazine Australia.