Ballarat Energy Storage System (BESS)

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$25 million will be provided to a consortia led by Spotless Sustainability Services to build Ballarat Energy Storage System (BESS) – a 30 megawatt (MW) / 30 megawatt-hour (MWh) large-scale, grid-connected battery located at the Ballarat electricity station (Ballarat Area Terminal Station (BATS).It is being developed by NuvoGroup (owned by Spotless). Fluence (a AES-Siemens joint venture) is the battery provider, AusNet Services is providing the equity, EnergyAustralia is the long-term offtaker, and ARENA and the Victorian Government are providers of grant funding.Key resultsCommissioned in 2018, the BESS was the first standalone battery-based energy storage system installed in front of the meter and directly connected to the transmission network in Australia — and the first grid-scale battery-based storage system commissioned in the state of Victoria. The project was constructed in nine months and is capable of dispatching services for all eight Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) markets and energy to the National Electricity Market (NEM).The BESS was a consortium project undertaken by the Spotless / Downer Group, Fluence, AusNet Services, and EnergyAustralia. Spotless provided the lead in forming the consortium, Fluence supplying and maintaining the battery energy storage system, AusNet funding and owning the asset, with EnergyAustralia acting as the market intermediary.As one of the first large-scale battery systems built in Australia, the BESS has demonstrated flexibility and adaptability of battery based assets and their ability to support higher penetrations of renewable energy. In turn this has provided network stability and helped reduce congestion in Victoria’s electricity grid, as well as assisted with the management of price volatility and reliability risks during high demand periods.

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