Australia’s largest grid-connected city microgrid has been formally commissioned with a brand new rooftop solar-powered system at Ikea’s retailer in Adelaide. It already supplies greater than 70% of the shop’s vitality wants and supplies grid help for the South Australian community.
From pv journal Australia
The Ikea microgrid contains a 1.2 MW rooftop photo voltaic system put in within the Adelaide retailer’s expansive retailer, coupled with a 3 MW/3.45 MWh battery vitality storage system backed by Planet Ark Energy’s eleXsys vitality administration system for surplus export.
Designed and constructed by Planet Ark Energy, the AUD 6.6 million ($4.3 million) photo voltaic and storage microgrid shall be owned and operated by South Australian vitality infrastructure firm Epic Vitality. Epic Vitality CEO Clive D’Cruz mentioned the system not solely powers the Ikea Adelaide retailer however can even help South Australia’s electrical energy community with a battery that enables the operator to ‘time shift’ vitality in photo voltaic.
D’Cruz mentioned that extra clear vitality saved within the microgrid’s battery might be bought within the Nationwide Electrical energy Market (NEM) throughout peak demand hours, supporting grid stability and reliability by taking part in Frequency Management Ancillary Providers (FCAS) market.
“Investing in Australia’s first-of-its-kind city microgrid helps our offtake accomplice Ikea in reaching their climate-positive targets whereas benefiting native communities by supporting grid stability,” he mentioned.
Planet Ark Energy Chief Monetary Officer Jonathan Ruddick mentioned the corporate’s eleXsys expertise integration has remodeled the Ikea retailer into an “unfettered, grid-connected business microgrid.”
“The microgrid not solely boosts SA’s clear vitality era, but in addition avoids expensive community upgrades and supplies grid help to the state’s electrical energy community, benefiting the broader South Australian neighborhood, ” he mentioned. “Utilizing eleXsys expertise means with the ability to join as much as 10 occasions extra vitality than photo voltaic expertise and grid constraints at the moment enable.”
Ruddick mentioned the capability to actively promote renewable vitality into the South Australian energy community additionally supplies a risk-reduced return on funding for microgrid homeowners.
South Australia has one of many highest charges of rooftop photo voltaic penetration on the planet, which, mixed with wind era, usually meets 100% of the state’s vitality wants however Division for Vitality and Mining Main Tasks Director Scott Oster mentioned that He’s hopeful that the mission will encourage. different main retailers will play their half within the state’s vitality transition.
“The South Australian authorities is worked up to see this mission show how good expertise means we are able to accommodate extra rooftop photo voltaic in ways in which actually assist our grid resilience,” he mentioned. he. “That is one other crucial step in South Australia delivering a sensible vitality grid of the long run. It is modern options and ahead pondering like this which are so essential as we transfer nearer to our goal of 100% renewables by 2030.”
For Ikea, the microgrid will help the corporate’s purpose of 100% renewable vitality use in its Adelaide retailer by 2025.
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