Industrial demand drives power storage projects

Large industrial electricity consumers are increasingly turning to the installation of solar and battery storage systems to provide reliable supply, driving metals demand as construction of new projects gets under way.

UK-Australian miner Rio Tinto and UK-based Shell have stated plans to invest in lithium-ion battery storage projects, as part of a flurry of developments this week in the move towards integrating batteries into renewable power supply.

Shell Energy Europe on Monday agreed an offtake deal with the 100MW Minety project in the UK, which is expected to be completed by the end of 2020. Construction on Minety started in December, led by utility China Huaneng and Chinese sovereign wealth fund CNIC.

The two 50MW batteries will bring the total capacity expected to be completed in Europe this year to more than 360MW, Argus' power storage project tracker shows. That would be up from more than 160MW in 2019.

As equipment costs fall and demand rises, unsubsidised battery storage in the UK and solar plants in Iberia in particular offer attractive opportunities for growth, UK-based investment firm The Renewables Infrastructure Group (TRIG) said in its annual report on Tuesday.

Rio Tinto plans to start construction later this year on a 34MW solar power plant at its Koodaideri mine project in Pilbara, Australia, installing 100,000 panels and a 12MWh battery to provide stable reserve power supply. The project is due to be completed in 2021. Australian iron ore miner Fortescue Metals said recently that it plans to install another 150MW of solar capacity along with a battery to help power its operations in the Pilbara region. It previously announced plans for a 60MW solar plant, and has a 30MW battery in operation at a gas-fired plant.

Intermittent power supply disruptions in Australia owing to rising summer temperatures and weather events have also prompted a new venture, Resilient Energy Collective, to provide solar and battery systems to areas affected by the recent bushfires. Resilient Energy Collective said on Wednesday that a package of solar systems from Australian equipment supplier 5B and batteries from US-based Tesla have been installed in two towns, with up to 100 sites targeted.

In California, which similarly faces high power grid demand, State Compensation Insurance Fund (State Fund) and utility Engie North America yesterday agreed to install 11MW of solar capacity at six State Fund facilities and 424MWh of battery capacity at four locations.

The project will "reduce our use of fossil fuels, limit the load we place on local and statewide electrical grids, and improve overall air quality throughout California", said Andreas Acker, executive vice-president and chief administrative officer at State Fund.

In Asia, Thai electricity producer and distributor Global Power Synergy on Wednesday signed a contract with Japanese construction company Takasago to install a solid-state battery in Thailand's largest industrial estate by the end of the year. The 30MWh battery could be expanded to 100MWh of capacity depending on future demand.

And Indian manufacturer Bharat Heavy Electricals won a tender on Wednesday floated by the country's Energy and Resources Institute for the installation and maintenance of 410kWh of battery storage capacity, as part of a pilot project to add batteries to the distribution grid instead of additional transformer capacity.

By Nicole Willing