The expansion of the Hornsdale Power Reserve will also enable higher penetration of renewable energy sources into the Australian energy grid. The expanded Hornsdale Power Reserve is expected to provide up to 3,000MWs of inertia, upon completion. The Australian Energy Market Operator estimates that the South Australian grid requires 6,000 megawatt seconds (MWs) to ensure a safe operating level of inertia.

The project is expected to provide inertia benefits to the National Electricity Market (NEM). Neoen signed another contract with Tesla for supply of 50MW/64.5MWh lithium-ion battery in November 2019 for the expansion of power reserve.Ĭonsolidated Power Projects was responsible for the electrical infrastructure works of the existing power reserve. Tesla signed an agreement with Neoen Australia for supply of the initially installed 100MW/129MWh lithium-ion battery for Hornsdale Power Reserve in July 2017.

The project is also set to receive £11.58m ($15m) over five years from South Australian Government’s Grid Scale Storage Fund.Ĭlean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has committed £26.3m ($50m) in project finance for the expansion project. The state government of Southern Australia provided approximately £11.73m ($15m) for the expansion. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) provided £6.25m ($8m) in funds for the expansion of the Hornsdale Power Reserve in November 2019. It will deliver the much needed inertia that is critical to ensure grid stability during fluctuations in demand and supply. The expanded power reserve will feature Tesla’s Virtual Machine Mode, which enables state-of-the-art power inverters to imitate the existing inertia services provided by South Australia’s ageing fossil fuel power plants. Commissioning and testing works will begin thereafter to commence regular services. These works required outage of the existing battery, which was timed during a period of average demand. Site works required to connect and test the expansion are currently ongoing. The installation of battery components has been completed as of March 2020. Hornsdale Power Reserve expansion project details The electricity from the power reserve is delivered to the Mount Lock substation located 100m away through underground cabling. It also connects to the 275kV network connection point corresponding to the wind farm. The battery can inject power in 0.14 seconds to maintain grid stabilisation. The capacity of the battery contributes approximately 75 minutes at full discharge. The Hornsdale Power Reserve lithium-ion storage battery is rated at 100MW discharge and 80MW charge with a storage capacity of 129MWh (megawatt hours). The reserve farm has a site area of 74km 2 that extends approximately 15km in north-south direction and approximately 8km in the east-west direction.

What is reserve battery level