CitiPower, a distribution grid operator based in Melbourne, Australia, is working with Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF), an energy nonprofit organization, to pilot a new approach that will allow more people to benefit from using battery storage systems, according to foreign media reports.
The deployment of such battery storage systems allows for community sharing and thus lower costs than if residential customers had installed their own battery storage systems.
CitiPower, which owns and operates the distribution network that powers Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD) and suburbs, and the Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF), a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting the use of clean and renewable energy solutions, have announced plans to deploy this pilot project.
The Powerbank community battery storage pilot project deployed by Western Power and utility Synergy in Perth, Western Australia, using a Tesla Powerpack battery storage system, is already up and running. Its second phase of deployment starts in early 2020.
The companies said they investigated the application potential of battery storage systems and used investment crowdsourcing to create a sustainable business model through which to facilitate the deployment of community battery storage systems. After identifying pilot sites and assessing whether local communities would embrace the idea, CitiPower and YEF will launch a financing model and build partnerships with participating energy retailers and energy market service providers.
The second phase of the project will deploy a larger battery storage system, connect it to the low-voltage grid, and is expected to be up and running by the end of this year. Several investors have already shown interest in investing in this project.
Dean Kline, CEO of YEF, said, "Battery storage systems that capture excess power from solar-generated facilities during the day and release power during periods of peak electricity demand will benefit communities, the grid and residential customers."
Kline added that shared battery storage systems give residential customers and businesses access to reliable and affordable power when they need it, without residential customers having to pay for the purchase and installation of a residential battery storage system themselves.
Mark Clarke, managing director of CitiPower, said that the Melbourne CBD in Victoria is not a highly utilized area for residential solar in Australia, with only 5 percent of residential customers deploying residential solar power facilities out of the 332,000 residential customers served by the company's electricity service, and that percentage could rise to 24 percent by 2026.
Update on Australian Residential Solar Deployment Community Battery Storage System Pilot
In a press release, the companies noted that in the past few months, Australia has released several community shared battery storage system deployment programs, and this is the latest pilot project released and the first of its kind to be deployed in Victoria.
Other projects include the deployment of a 4MW/8MWh battery storage system in Townsville, Queensland, which is scheduled to be announced in early 2019. And in New South Wales, the local government provided a grant for a community-owned 2MWh battery storage system to support its development. AusGrid, the electricity distributor serving about 2 million customers in New South Wales, said in October 2020 that it plans to deploy community battery storage systems in three locations.
A feasibility study commissioned by AusGrid and carried out by research firm KPMG found that battery storage totals with a capacity of more than 250kWh have a better chance of breaking even than smaller battery storage systems because they can participate in a wider range of market opportunities and provide more electricity services.
Back in 2017, expert services and certification organization DNV GL published a study suggesting that a "multi-stakeholder" approach such as community ownership could be key to making battery storage systems beneficial to grid operators and customers. A recent study by the Australian National University on the appropriate rate structures for community battery storage system settings found that while ownership models do offer benefits, it still takes some time to design these rate structures. And the optimal mix for achieving arbitrage is not yet clear.
As renewable generation grows, now is a good time to look at the potential for connecting battery storage systems to support communities," said Mark Clarke, managing director of CitiPower. By sharing battery storage systems, residential customers can take full advantage of residential solar power generation facilities. Even if a residential solar power facility is not deployed, it can benefit CitiPower's customers because battery storage systems help reduce the cost of building the grid and meet peak electricity demand."
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