This Grid vs Garage report presents the findings of an AECOM Australia Pty Ltd (AECOM) analysis of the technical and economic value of energy storage at different system levels: grid-side on the network (grid) and customer-side behind-the-meter (garage).
Report extract
Australia’s future energy system will feature greater levels of energy storage such as utility and domestic scale battery energy storage systems (BESS). BESS are considered critical to support increased penetration of variable renewable energy and promote better system reliability and security.
BESS can be connected at different points within the electricity supply chain, as shown in Figure 1. They can be installed in front of the meter on the high, medium and low voltage components of the network (grid BESS), as well as behind the meter on residential and commercial premises (garage BESS). Garage BESS can be either controlled or non-controlled depending on whether they have the technical and operation ability to respond to market signals.
The location at which BESS are connected on the network influences its capacity to deliver network services such as managing load peaks and supporting frequency, voltage and system strength. It also affects the commercial returns that asset owners can receive.
Our analysis of BESS deployment options at different connection points found:
- There is a diversity of market and commercial benefits from BESS deployment
- BESS on the low voltage network provide greatest benefit
- Controlled BESS create additional value for the system and asset owners.
