Tesla Big Battery Outsmarts Lumbering Coal Units After Loy Yang Trips (reneweconomy.com.au)

The Tesla big battery is having a crucial impact on Australia's electricity market, far beyond the South Australia grid where it was expected to time shift a small amount of wind energy and provide network services and emergency back-up in case of a major problem. From a report: Last Thursday, one of the biggest coal units in Australia, Loy Yang A 3, tripped without warning at 1.59am, with the sudden loss of 560MW and causing a slump in frequency on the network. What happened next has stunned electricity industry insiders and given food for thought over the near to medium term future of the grid, such was the rapid response of the Tesla big battery to an event that happened nearly 1,000km away. Even before the Loy Yang A unit had finished tripping, the 100MW/129MWh had responded, injecting 7.3MW into the network to help arrest a slump in frequency that had fallen below 49.80Hertz.

Comments

We should have batteries at every substation.

[Snorlax]

The resiliency of the power grid would be vastly improved if we put a battery pack (the size of a normal intermodal container) at each substation. These could act like your home UPS, fixing blackouts of a few minutes, when they occur. This also would make the grid much more able to use wind and solar sources, without so much need for standby diesel systems currently in place.

Re:We should have batteries at every substation.

[ArhcAngel]

Until VERY recently this was not at all economically viable because the cost to store the electricity was higher than the cost to generate it. I work for the largest owner of wind energy in North America and for years they would routinely short their windmills electricity production directly to ground because the grid from their location in West Texas to Dallas where it was needed was saturated. If they had stored the electricity the cost of generation + storage would have meant they would have to sell it at a loss. Now that storage costs can beat peak rates you'll see large companies invest in electricity time shifting so they can charge the battery when electricity is cheapest and switch to battery during peak usage to save money. This will benefit the grid directly since it will lower the stress during peak usage overall.

Re:A slump in what?

[Thelasko]

If a power source goes offline, wouldn't you see a slump in voltage? Why the decrease in frequency?

In DC, yes. AC is a different animal. The AC frequency is determined by the speed of the generators. When demand outstrips the supply, the generators slow down. Therefore, the frequency drops.

You would likely see a drop in voltage too. However, AC voltage is difficult to measure. Frequency is a much more precise way to measure the status of the grid.

Re:na

[jofas]

And "What happened next" did not stun electricity industry insiders. It was engineered to do the very thing it did.