According to a new whitepaper from GridBeyond called Community Battery 101 — Australia, 1MW community batteries enrolled in an FCAS (Frequency Control Ancillary Services) program can each generate up to $250,000 per year in revenue.
Energy battery storage are critical for the decarbonisation of the electricity grid and the transition from a centralised generation model to a decentralised one, allowing the integration of more renewables in the energy system.
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In Australia’s energy markets, community batteries offer a sustainable and cost-effective solution that not only benefits the community but also the environment.
If these batteries are efficiently coordinated, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) estimates they could help reduce costs for all consumers by offsetting the need for an additional $4.1 billion in grid-scale investments.
Community-scale storage could also achieve significant net value through stacking multiple services, earning the operators a valuable income stream and realising attractive payback and return on investment opportunities.
Against rising electricity costs, community batteries provide a solution by empowering communities to take control of their energy. Community batteries can reduce energy costs, by storing excess energy when it’s cheap and using it during peak hours.
They can make community less reliant on traditional energy providers and they are also more sustainable as they maximise the use of renewable energy sources like solar and wind and can provide a reliable source of energy even during grid outages.
But for community batteries to be commercially viable, an intelligent energy storage management system (ESMS) platform must be interoperable between a grid operator’s system, grid edge control layer, and energy market interfaces. The ESMS must be able to co-optimise across value streams to deliver benefits across the entire energy stakeholder ecosystem.
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GridBeyond asset development director Scott Berrie says, “It’s exciting to see the Australian Government supporting the rolling out community batteries to lower power bills and boost electricity reliability. Community batteries are a great opportunity for everyone as everyone can benefit from those.
“Energy storage batteries can help the government to reach its decarbonisation goal, they generate savings and can help communities to even benefiting financially through an intelligent energy storage management system.”
