Australia’s Northern Territory government has approved the acquisition of a large scale battery for the Darwin-Katherine grid at a project cost of A$30 million.

Procurement will take place over the coming months with the BESS expected to become operational in the second half of 2022.

The battery energy storage system (BESS) will reduce the need for gas-fired spinning reserve, that will save costs of around A$6.4 million and cut emissions by around 50.000 tonnes per year. The system will also enable more renewable energy to be absorbed from large scale solar projects.

These batteries will significantly reduce costs for households and businesses by reducing the amount of power that has to be purchased from the grid.

They also build grid stability and reduce power system costs by replacing demand for gas fired generation during evening peaks with solar energy generated during the day.