“The Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia, aka the “Tesla big battery”, has finally gained approval to become the first big battery in the world to deliver grid-scale inertia services.
The approval came from the Australian Energy Market Operator after nearly two years of trials and testing, and is considered to be another critical step towards managing a grid with 100 per cent renewables and no coal plants and gas generators in operation.
The Hornsdale battery, owned by Neoen and expanded to 150MW/193MWh in 2020 to help deliver these additional services, will be the first of many such batteries to operate with what are known as “advanced” or “grid forming” inverters.
These inverters are able to deliver many of the critical grid services usually provided by thermal power, but have required detailed testing to help manage the switch from large spinning machines to precise digital technology.”
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