The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) can confirm that the System Integrity Protection Scheme (SIPS)1 service is fully operational with the commissioning of Neoen’s Victorian Big battery.
Following AEMO’s competitive tender process, Neoen was awarded the contract to supply up to 250 megawatts (MW) of energy reserve from its 300 MW/450 MWh battery to operate in a control scheme that increases the capability of the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector (VNI).
AEMO CEO, Daniel Westerman, said: “AEMO’s partnership with the Victorian Government and Neoen has delivered one of the world’s largest batteries, which will enable a more reliable and secure electricity supply for Victorian consumers at a competitive low cost.”
In the event of an unexpected network outage between November to March, the battery will automatically discharge energy within seconds, ramping to full output of 250 MW. This will allow AEMO time to safely optimise interconnector flows and dispatch other generation and storage within Victoria to keep the system stable and secure.
The VBB effectively doubles today’s grid-scale battery capacity in the National Electricity Market. It’s capable of maximising benefits from intermittent renewable generation, soaking-up and discharging energy when needed.
1 About System Integrity Protection Scheme (SIPS)
On 18 March 2020, the Victorian Parliament passed amendments to the National Electricity (Victoria) Act 2005 (Vic) (NEVA). This new legislation allows the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change powers to modify or disapply sections of the National Electricity Law and the National Electricity Rules as they relate to specified augmentations, augmentation services or non-network services in respect of the Victorian transmission network.
In November 2020, the Minister made orders under the NEVA that directed AEMO to enter into the SIPS Support Agreement to manage the procurement process to allow additional import of electricity over the Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector (VNI) of up to 250 MW at peak times between November and March.