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Ausgrid has installed 20 energy storage units in the rural area of Gundy, NSW, near Scone, and will be connecting them to the grid to test whether they can help lower peak demand in the area.

Gundy resident Charles Cooke next to the RedFlow energy storage device installed on his property
(Credit: Ausgrid)

The energy storage units are 5kW/10kWh zinc-bromine batteries, supplied to Ausgrid under a supply and installation deal signed with Redflow last year. The units contain an inverter and control and communications systems, and are designed to work with smart grids. The batteries themselves are expected to last indefinitely and, unlike lead-acid batteries, their electrodes don’t form part of the chemical reaction used to generate electricity and thus do not erode.

When the battery units are connected to the grid, they will be used to store power during non-peak periods so that customers can use it during more expensive peak demand periods. The unit is able to communicate with the rest of the network to decide when to store and when to release energy, with the functions controlled by a remote terminal unit microprocessor.

The unit will reduce the burden on the electricity grid and, in the long term, allow electricity networks to make better use of infrastructure since they won’t need to build excess capacity for spikes in demand that might only occur a small percentage of the time. In other states, schemes to decrease peak time energy use include having appliances such as air conditioners switch off automatically during those periods.

The installations at Gundy are intended to complement the most recent installation of 40 batteries and 25 gas units in Elermore Vale, near Newcastle. Unlike Elermore Vale, which is a more urban setting, Gundy will provide Ausgrid with information on how to adapt and optimise smart grids and related infrastructure for more rural areas.

Ausgrid is also planning to install eight wind turbines in Gundy over the next few months. These will eventually be connect to the same powerline that services the battery units to see what affect they might have and to observe any difference between rural and urban environments.

“In a rural environment, you have very long powerlines that are all overhead and they travel for some distance. In an urban setting, you have a mix of above ground [and underground], which all has an impact on the electricity network … obviously you can’t trial wind in [an urban] setting like you can in a rural area,” a company spokesperson told ZDNet Australia.

Ausgrid estimates that shifting to the use of stored battery power could cut household bills by about $400 a year; wind turbines could, depending on wind speeds, produce 2000kWh of electricity a year, saving about $300 a year. The trial will also look at the reliability of these systems in electricity networks.

“We’re testing whether this technology can make the power supply more reliable in rural areas and give households more control over their electricity use and bills,” Ausgrid energy efficiency expert Paul Myors said.

“We are also looking at the impact of adding this technology to the grid in a concentrated area, and whether it’s possible to use these energy sources to help power local homes during blackouts.”