October 15, 2014
Ergon Energy expects to start installing new battery-based technology to help power some sections of its electricity network by mid-2015, providing a much more cost-effective way of upgrading supply to many rural customers.
The new Grid Utility Support Systems (GUSS) were designed and developed by Ergon in an Australian-first.
GUSS works by charging batteries overnight when electricity use is at its lowest and discharging them during the day if required when energy use peaks.
An Ergon spokesman said the GUSS units were an advanced technology that would improve the quality and reliability of electricity supply to rural customers on constrained single wire high voltage distribution lines, known as SWER (Single Wire Earth Return).
“Traditional augmentation solutions to constrained SWER lines where demand on that line is exceeding its capabilities can cost in excess of $2 million,” Ergon Chief Executive Ian McLeod said.
“GUSS units are not only a quicker solution than traditional network augmentation but the money we can save will ultimately put downward pressure on electricity prices.”
Additionally customers on constrained networks who have had to limit their demand due to the available capacity may be able to access additional supply.
“This is a first for Ergon and Australia,” Ergon Chief Executive Ian McLeod said.
Ergon finalised a successful trial of prototype GUSS units in Far North Queensland last year and will now roll the systems out strategically to sections of the SWER network.
The first SWER lines earmarked for GUSS units include the Collabri and Kinnoul SWER lines in the Roma region and the Eureka SWER near Childers.
GUSS units could reduce SWER network augmentation costs by more than 35 per cent on current estimates. The first production units are expected to be built later this year.
They will provide 25kVA and 100 kilowatt hours nominal capacity per unit, enough to power the average home for up to five days.
The units utilise a total of 50 Lithium-Ion type batteries and were developed by a team of Ergon engineers. Trials of the system since 2011 have proven the concept on Ergon’s SWER network.
In a further bonus for other new technologies, GUSS units will also help Ergon’s network interact with customer solar PV installations more effectively and help avoid costly issues sometimes created by exported power from rooftop solar.
Ergon predicts it could be deploying many hundreds of GUSS units across its SWER network in coming years.
Ergon operates about 65,000km of SWER network, servicing more than 26,000 customers.
Wouldn’t the newly emerging flow batteries be better suited for this purpose rather than Li-Ion? Queensland based Redflow has just commenced commercial scale production of its zinc bromide battery.