Magellan Power supplies energy storage for Onslow Power project

Magellan Power’s utility-scale battery storage system has helped increase the efficiency of the power station in the Western Australian town of Onslow.

Horizon Power’s Onslow Power project is Australia’s largest distributed energy resource (DER) microgrid, which aims to deliver more than half of the town’s electricity needs from renewable resources. Energy sourced from rooftop solar, battery storage devices and wind is stored in the battery storage system and fed to the community to provide more cost-effective and environmentally friendly power. It will help meet Onslow’s demand for energy driven by population movements and resource developments.

The first stage of the DER microgrid project consisted of a new 7 MW gas-fired power plant which used the Magellan Power utility-scale battery storage system to: enable the growth of renewable energy percentage in the microgrid, increase the operational life and dynamic response of power generation, increase efficiency of the power station, reduce the generation of carbon emissions, improve the availability of generation, prevent the power plant from blackout in case of generator trip and line loss, and reduce of the operation and maintenance costs of generators.

The BESS on site in Onslow.

The company won the contract to supply the 1 MW/550 kWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in two 20-foot containers in early 2017. The BESS can be used for: load-power shifting, utility transformer and transmission line energisation, microgrid voltage and frequency regulation, active power absorption, and dynamic reactive power control.

According to Magellan Power Managing Director Masoud Abshar, the project was an example of how local Australian companies can support and supply large Australian projects with homegrown solutions.

“We don’t need to look elsewhere like the US for solutions to our own renewable energy problems. This shows that Australian utilities can and should confidently award contracts to energy storage manufacturers here in Australia,” he said.

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/auspicious