On 6 November the Victorian government announced the commitment to deliver, along with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), the largest battery in Australia 300MW. The Geelong battery is contracted under AEMO’s System Integrity Protection Scheme (SIPS) allowing an additional 250MW to flow across the interconnector and respond to network outages during summer (the contract allows free market operation of 50MW during the summer and up to the full 300MW all other times). Given the size of the battery do we already need to re-evaluate the amount of storage that is projected to be built in the National Electricity Market (NEM)?
To keep reading, please log in to your account
Alternatively, please sign up to receive free market insight online and direct to your inbox
Related thinking
Low carbon generation
Australian Chart of the week | 3 2 1… fight: VRE and price cannibalisation in NEM
In the last decade, the rapid decline in deployment cost of variable renewable energy (VRE) generation capacity has given renewables an advantage over fossil fuels for new builds as highlighted in ‘Renewable Power Generation Costs in 2020’ report from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). In the report, Australia has...
Commercial and market outlook
Australian Chart of the week | Two roller coaster rides for the price of one? Preliminary vs final MLFs
In recent years, movements in marginal loss factors (MLFs) have received significant attention in the National Electricity Market (NEM). Many renewable projects in remote areas have experienced material MLF reductions as more supply connects nearby. For example, the MLF for Broken Hill Solar Farm saw a whopping 50 ppt drop...
Regulation and policy
Australian Chart of the week | Peak raise regulation FCAS volumes drop by 72MWs
It is helpful to understand Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) as FCAS price forecasts are needed to estimate generator and customer costs, as well as possible revenues for new and existing ancillary service providers. AEMO procures regulation FCAS to balance frequency during normal operation. From May 2019, AEMO has procured...
Low carbon generation
Australian Chart of the week | If I should stay, I’ll only be in your way: coal and the transition
Events in Queensland on 25 May 2021 tested the resilience of the Queensland demand/supply balance with 3GW of coal generation suddenly coming offline due to a loss of generation at the Callide power station. According to AEMO’s preliminary report – released on 1 June 2021 – on the event, the outage also...
Low carbon generation
Australian Chart of the week | “I feel the earth move under my feet”: from high to lows
We have seen a dramatic shift in FCAS price fortunes over the past year or so, going from all-time highs of ~$229.3mn in Q1 of 2020 (due to the separation event) to only ~$40.1mn in Q1 2021. Since 2019 we have also seen regulation raise prices decline from robust prices...
Low carbon generation
Australian Chart of the week | NEM wind generation: Do birds of a feather flock together?
With a growing expectation that coal plants will face early retirement, this week’s ‘Chart of the week’ examines the correlation between different wind patterns in the various identified Renewable Energy Zones in the NEM. As would be expected, there is a tendency of high correlation within the individual states, where...
Energy storage and flexibility
Australian Chart of the week | Winds of change: Victoria and its unique afternoon ‘belly bump’
To say the transition is well and truly underway in the Australian NEM is not exactly news. In the last year alone, renewables have delivered record shares in generation mix across the NEM. Whilst solar is the technology often in the news given its impact on both operational demand, mid-day...
Low carbon generation
Australian Chart of the week | Show me the future: can storage bank on FCAS being bankable?
Previously we have examined the importance in FCAS prices for the revenue stream for batteries. With a growing interest in batteries in the market, this ‘Chart of the week’ takes a deeper look into the impact of bidding behaviour on the Regulation Raise price since 2012. From January 2012 until...