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    1. Energy Storage

    Australia's Akaysha Energy selects U.S-based Powin to supply 1.9-GWh Super Battery system

    Nov. 18, 2022
    The Waratah Super Battery will operate as part of a System Integrity Protection Scheme. The plan is designed to monitor electric transmission lines and enable the battery to act as a “shock absorber
    Rendering credit Powin Energy
    Powin Battery 63780bf800e3f

    The contract to supply a 1.9-GWh battery energy storage system to replace an Australian coal-fired power plant goes to an Oregon-based company originally founded as a contract manufacturing firm.

    Powin Energy, now a major energy storage player, was selected to supply the 909-MW/1.9-GWh system for developer Akaysha Energy’s Waratah Super Battery Project in New South Wales. The NSW government chose Black Rock-owned Akaysha to guide the super battery project and use Waratah to offset the lost power capacity from the anticipating closure of the Eraring Power Station, as well as provide grid support services.

    The Waratah Super Battery will operate as part of a government-desired System Integrity Protection Scheme. The plan is designed to monitor electric transmission lines and enable the battery to act as a “shock absorber” in the event of sudden power surges.

    “We are honored to have been selected by Akaysha to deliver the most powerful battery in the world,” said Geoff Brown, CEO of Powin, in a statement. “This is a pivotal moment for the industry as we begin to replace carbon emitting power plants, with cleaner, more efficient, and fast responding energy storage systems.”

    The 2.88-GW (2,880 MW) coal-fired Eraring is Australia’s largest power station and scheduled to be closed by 2025. In addition, the Waratah Super Battery project will reside on the site of the old Munmorrah Power Station, a 1.4-GW coal-fired plant which served customers until it was closed by 2012.

    Powin will supply 2,592 Centipede Energy Segments and 288 power conversion systems from their wholly owned subsidiary, EKS Energy, for a total project capacity of 909-MW / 1915 MWh. Powin will also provide a 20-year long-term service agreement (LTSA) which will enhance the reliability, efficiency and availability of power supplied by the mega battery.

    The Waratah Supper Battery’s “shock absorber” role could involve dealing with events such as lightning strikes, bushfires or other disruptions to the flow of electricity. The project is designed to ensure load centers such as Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong have access to more power generation while reducing the risk of interruptions.

    Powin Energy was an early mover into the BESS sector. In September, it acquired energy management firm EKS Energy to aid it in develop further grid-scale energy storage projects.

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    (Rod Walton, senior editor for EnergyTech, is a 14-year veteran of covering the energy industry both as a newspaper and trade journalist. He can be reached at [email protected]). 

    Follow us on Twitter @EnergyTechNews_ and @rodwaltonelp and on LinkedIn 

    About the Author

    Rod Walton, EnergyTech Managing Editor | Senior Editor

    For EnergyTech editorial inquiries, please contact Managing Editor Rod Walton at [email protected].

    Rod Walton has spent 15 years covering the energy industry as a newspaper and trade journalist. He formerly was energy writer and business editor at the Tulsa World. Later, he spent six years covering the electricity power sector for Pennwell and Clarion Events. He joined Endeavor and EnergyTech in November 2021.

    Walton earned his Bachelors degree in journalism from the University of Oklahoma. His career stops include the Moore American, Bartlesville Examiner-Enterprise, Wagoner Tribune and Tulsa World. 

    EnergyTech is focused on the mission critical and large-scale energy users and their sustainability and resiliency goals. These include the commercial and industrial sectors, as well as the military, universities, data centers and microgrids. The C&I sectors together account for close to 30 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S.

    He was named Managing Editor for Microgrid Knowledge and EnergyTech starting July 1, 2023

    Many large-scale energy users such as Fortune 500 companies, and mission-critical users such as military bases, universities, healthcare facilities, public safety and data centers, shifting their energy priorities to reach net-zero carbon goals within the coming decades. These include plans for renewable energy power purchase agreements, but also on-site resiliency projects such as microgrids, combined heat and power, rooftop solar, energy storage, digitalization and building efficiency upgrades.

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