Ballarat’s Big battery ready to power homes

THE first of two large scale batteries built to support Victoria’s energy grid has been unveiled in Ballarat.

Minister for Energy Lily D’Ambrosio last week opened the Ballarat Energy Storage System – BESS -located at the Ballarat Terminal Station in Warrenheip.

BESS, a state-of-the-art lithium ion large-scale battery capable of storing and delivering 30 megawatt of power supply per hour, will provide crucial power supply, frequency control, and back-up services to support the network.

Costing $50 million, equally funded by the state government and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency, the batteries – the second one located near Kerang – are the most sophisticated energy storage initiatives in Australia.

Ms D’Ambrosio said, “We’re modernising our electricity grid, strengthening our energy security and delivering real action on climate change.”

According to the Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning, electricity works best when the frequency is stable.

A fault in the energy grid can cause the frequency to drop especially in parts of the grid furthest from the main power generators e.g. Victoria’s western regions.

BESS, designed to stabilise the frequency and prevent a fault from effecting the state’s energy supply, can respond to changing grid needs within milliseconds operating 24 hours a day, seven days a week to support critical peak demand.