Large-scale renewable energy and battery storage projects create long-term employment. As per the Australian Bureau of Statistics’ latest available release of Employment in Renewable Energy Activities, the annual direct full-time equivalent employment in renewable energy activities in Australia was estimated at 26,850 jobs in 2018-19. Not only are these new jobs crucial to communities, their positive flow-on effect is also felt throughout the local supply chains. The Department of Climate Change, Energy, and Environmental and Water (DCCEEW) has released a new report on the state of energy storage growth for Australia, showing the battery industry could provide $16.9 billion per annum in economic benefits and support 61,400 local jobs by 2030.

The transition to clean energy will require more renewable energy generation such as wind and solar to replace the ageing coal fired power stations. Given the variability of renewable resources, BESS will play a major role to help ensure a continuous supply of energy in the grid. BESS will store excess energy generated such as during day time, and release it during peak demand in the evening.

The 100 MW 4-hour stand-alone BESS enhances grid stability by providing a bi-directional power function, helping to smooth out power fluctuations. It helps manage peak load demands, reducing the need for expensive and carbon-intensive gas-peaking power plants, thereby lowering operational costs and environmental impact. As the electricity market is mainly driven by supply and demand, the increased energy availability in the market will help stabilize electricity prices. Additionally, BESS also helps improve grid stability by providing ancillary services such as frequency control support. As such the grid can support more capacity of renewables towards meeting Australia’s clean energy goal.

Macedon BESS project will be a collection of battery modules commonly based on lithium-ion technology, as seen in common household items such as a smartphone and laptop’s battery. Battery modules contain individual low-voltage battery cells arranged in racks within enclosures creating the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS). The battery cells store electrical energy in the form of chemical energy and are connected to achieve the desired power and capacity.

Like a typical battery that needs charging and then followed by discharging for power consumption, BESS also needs to charge its energy from the grid, typically during peak production such as at mid-day when there is plenty of solar energy entering the grid. When the demand for electricity rises, BESS will discharge its stored energy through using a specialized Power Conversion System (PCS) to export the electricity back to the grid.

A typical BESS system will consist of:

• Battery containers: which house the battery racks, as well as other system’s components such as battery management system (BMS), cooling system, and fire suppression system.
• Power conversion system (PCS): which are typically electrical conversion units that convert between DC and AC electricity between the battery (DC only) and the grid (AC only).
• Transformer station: which support to increase or decrease the voltage transmit to and from the grid.