SEC’s giant battery powering Victoria through peak demand

SEC’s giant battery in Plumpton is delivering strong results, providing Victorians with electricity when they need it most and easing pressure on wholesale electricity prices.

Co-owned by SEC and GreenPoint Energy (a subsidiary of Equis Australia), the 600-megawatt Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub is one of the biggest batteries in the world and has been powering Victorian homes and businesses since late last year.

SEC owns 100% dispatch rights over the hub’s 200 megawatts four-hour storage battery component, A3, which provides important additional capacity to Victoria’s electricity grid.

Battery technology is playing an increasingly vital role in Victoria’s energy system, storing surplus renewable generation during the day, and releasing it during evening peaks to help stabilise supply and smooth prices when demand is highest.

On January 27, when Victoria recorded its hottest day on record and its highest electricity demand since 2009, the A3 battery component was exporting 200 megawatts during peak demand. This helped reduce reliance on gas generation and kept wholesale prices well below the market price cap.

Batteries also increase grid reliability as coal-fired power stations retire and exit the system.

During May, several units at Victoria’s Loy Yang A and Yallourn coal-fired power stations were offline. At the same time, cloudy and low-wind conditions reduced renewable generation across the grid. The MREH batteries helped fill the supply gap by discharging during the evening peak, when electricity demand was highest.

SEC CEO Chris Miller said SEC’s first operational project is delivering tangible benefits for Victorians.

“The battery is demonstrating the transition to renewables is working. In its more than six months of operation, SEC’s battery has proven itself to be a critical part of Victoria’s energy grid,” Mr Miller said.

"Prior to batteries such as the Hub coming online, the combination of these events would have led to a significant increase in wholesale electricity prices and could cause instability in the state’s electricity grid.”

The Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub was SEC’s first investment. SEC has since invested in wind and solar hybrid projects, with more than a gigawatt in committed/operating projects, putting it well on track to achieve its mandate to deliver 4.5 gigawatts of renewable generation and storage by 2035.