This report has been prepared to provide information with regards to the installation and commissioning of a utility scale, transmission asset connected, Battery Energy Storage System.
Report extract
This report has been prepared to provide information with regards to the installation and commissioning of a utility scale, transmission asset connected, Battery Energy Storage System. It details the steps undertaken during the planning, design, installation, commissioning, and performance testing phases, including R2 and FCAS.
Key results and lessons learnt
- Delays were experienced due to the unique consortium arrangement and the necessity for multiple funding partners created a challenging contractual and commercial environment. The interdependence of all the associated agreements and the technical assessments delayed financial close
- The Ballarat Transmission Station was previously operated by the State Electricity Commission (SEC) and the location of obsolete in ground assets was not clearly defined. This delayed the preparation of the site placing the construction phase into a non-optimal weather window
- The BESS System is connected directly to the transmission network through a single point of coupling and a complexity is that the system could not be connected to the network prior to registration and the system could not be registered until it had been tested to the satisfaction of AEMO
- The development of the R2 Test Plan and the subsequent R2 testing was extensive and the requirement for full testing of the system as both a Generator and a Load was additional to expectations
- The application of Battery Energy Storage System for Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) was not defined in the AEMO FCAS Verification Tool User Guide and as such use of the Market Ancillary Service Specification Verification Tool (MASSVT) was not ideal suited for BESS FCAS testing. This resulted in AEMO producing a guide to registering BESS for FCAS informed by the experience with BATS BESS
- The strong response time by BATS BESS – both in terms of FCAS provision and peak power dispatch displays better performance than the market pays for.
- BATS BESS is capable of monetising additional services if the market would reimburse FFR, synthetic inertia and Volt/VAR for example.
- The BATS BESS project has demonstrated for the development of future transmission connected projects to be cohabited with transmission and distribution assets.