Lakeland Solar and Storage Project

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The Lakeland Solar and Storage Project project involves the construction of a large-scale solar plant with battery storage in the Lakeland region of North Queensland. The integration of big solar and battery storage has the potential to revolutionise power supply for fringe-of-grid locations. There are challenges associated with supplying power to fringe-of-grid areas from central generation sources. These challenges include network constraints, lack of supporting infrastructure and loss of power due to transmitting over long distances.Currently there is little knowledge sharing about how large scale solar PV and battery storage can service fringe-of-grid regions.InnovationThis world first project will combine large-scale solar and battery storage into a single fringe-of- grid location.The project will test a number of battery operation modes, including an ‘island’ mode, where the local distribution network is disconnected from the main transmission line. A battery testing plan will also be implemented over the first two years of operation to measure battery performance.ARENA has worked with Conergy to form a knowledge sharing working group, which includes AEMO, BHP, Ergon Energy and Origin Energy to analyse and share the lessons learned from the battery testing plan.

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