Renew Economy
Horizon Power has officially started the 12-month pilot of a long duration vanadium flow battery in Kununurra, to prove whether or not the technology will stand up to the hot, arid conditions.
The 78 kW / 220 kWh vanadium flow battery was lifted into place on 1 October and the pilot was timed to start with a ribbon cutting event by Western Australia energy minister Reece Whitby.
The installation has been a long time coming: Horizon Power bought the battery in mid-2023 from VSUN [Energy], a division of Vanadium Australia, and it had to go through a long period of factory testing in Perth before the journey north.
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pv magazine
Western Australia’s state-owned regional energy provider Horizon Power has officially launched the trial of a vanadium flow battery in the state’s north as it investigates how to integrate long-duration energy storage into its network, microgrids, and other off-grid power systems.
Horizon Power Chief Executive Officer Stephanie Unwin said this is the first time vanadium flow technology has been tested in WA and if successful, it will be a real game changer for clean and reliable energy for regional and remote communities.
“Kununurra, with its hot and humid climate, is a challenging environment for battery energy storage,” she said. “Piloting the vanadium flow battery in these extreme conditions will help us to learn more about its capabilities and the potential for it to be effectively integrated into our network, much of which is subject to extreme temperatures.”
The 220 kWh battery has been sourced from United Kingdom-based manufacturer Invinity Energy Systems but supplied by Perth-headquartered company VSUN Energy, a subsidiary of Australian Vanadium Limited (AVL), which has handled the installation and commissioning.
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Energy Magazine
Kununurra is home to a new vanadium flow battery, with the Western Australian Government trialling the technology in the unique Kimberley conditions.
The battery has a 78KW capacity and 220KWh of storage, which the Western Australian Government said it well suited to the Kimberley as it requires storage solutions to be temperature resilient and capable of delivering energy over a long period of time.
The pilot is also expected to provide Horizon Power with lessons on how to integrate long-duration energy storage into its network, microgrids, and other off-grid power systems.
The Western Australian Government said battery storage already plays a critical role in the state’s energy mix, with large-scale batteries in Kwinana and Collie absorbing excess rooftop solar power during the day and redistributing it at night when demand for energy is greater.
VSUN Energy, a subsidiary of Australian Vanadium, has supplied the vanadium flow battery, and will collaborate with Horizon Power on system support testing over the next 12 months.
Western Australian Energy Minister, Reece Whitby, said the State Government’s continued investment in battery storage means households throughout Western Australia can continue to reap the benefits of rooftop solar.
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