The 1MWh grid connected trial system will be located in the Illawarra region and is expected to save the state from installing costly new substations and reduce network investment of $1m per year. It will be fully operational by next summer.
Endeavour Energy had selected MPower based on its capability in delivering large scale solar installation and micro-grid power system in Australia and New Zealand.
Endeavour Energy asset management general manager Ty Christopher said: “This is an important milestone in adapting our network to meet the future energy needs of our customers.”
He said: “These changes are being driven by customers embracing new technologies such as solar and battery storage and taking greater control through access to real time data about their energy use.
“As part of this transition, our customers have told us they want us to be working to secure their future electricity supply and help them reduce their electricity bills.
“The experience gained from this trial will help us build and operate a secure, reliable and affordable network in the future.”
MPower stated that the project will help in strengthening the grid during peak demand and can potentially delay the need to invest heavily in infrastructure to meet the growing power demand.
The new technology could also see exponential growth, as the cost of battery storage is continually reducing, while the technology itself is improving.
MPower Projects managing director Anthony Csillag said: “There is widespread publicity about energy storage utilising batteries. This project is a shining example of how energy storage can be used for a critical application. It adds a new era technology into the grid that performs like other generators on the network, particularly in relation to network control and protection.
“The system will also resynchronise to the grid seamlessly to transition from islanded operation to grid connected operation. MPower has enjoyed several recent successes in this area and thrives on the engineering challenges.”
