large solar battery heads to far north qld - battery power storage
Australia's first grid-connected large battery solar power station will revolutionize energy generation in Queensland. north.
The project's rugby field-sized battery means renewable solar energy can be injected into the grid even if the sun does not shine.
The $0. 15 billion York corner battery power plant is the first renewable power station to be allowed to connect to the State Grid with battery storage.
The coupling of solar farms with batteries means that in Australia, renewable energy is stable for the first time, with no voltage and frequency fluctuations, which can lead to power outages.
Lyon Group chairman David Green said the project also reduced the demand for expensive upgrades to thousands of kilometers of poles and wires in Queensland.
He said in a statement: "About half of the cost that consumers see on their bills is the cost of poles and wires, otherwise all of these network costs will fall heavily on consumers' bills
Mr. Green said the plant would shift up to four hours of solar energy to peak demand at night and power more than 20,000 homes.
The construction phase of the project will also bring more than 100 jobs to North Queensland.
Earlier, Federal Energy Minister Angus Taylor said state ministers pushing for higher emissions targets did not understand what was important to people --
Lower electricity bill.
Green says renewable energy is now cheaper and more competitive than fossil-fuel power generation.
"The reality is that there is no new investment into the coal sector and banks are not investing in new coal, and coal generators themselves say they are not investing in coal, regulators planning the system told us not to expect new coal --
"A generation has been fired," he said . "
He said that the top priority for the government and regulators now should be to use integrated batteries to store more and more renewable energy. "Nearly one-in-
"Three Queensland people have roof-top solar, and the amount of large solar power that is being developed is huge as solar costs fall," he said . ".
The project will be completed in about 12 months.