E22 has signed an agreement with Fluence to deploy the Fluence IQ Bidding Application at its first battery-based energy storage project in Australia
While Fluence is a provider of energy storage products and services and digital applications for renewables and storage, E22 is the battery division of Spanish renewable energy company Gransolar Group. The energy storage project, taking shape in Victoria, is a 5 MW / 7.5 MWh system.
New market
This project represents an exciting new market segment for Fluence in providing digital products to the emerging small grid-scale (<5 mw) energy storage market. It also demonstrates Fluence’s independent, technology-agnostic business model and ability to provide digital products and services to third-party project developers and energy storage system providers.
Completion by mid-2022
Located in Longwarry, Victoria, the lithium-ion battery project is under construction and expected to achieve energisation in mid-2022. The Longwarry energy storage system will give full support to the distribution network operator Ausnet via a Network Support Agreement (NSA) during times of high congestion in the summer and will participate in wholesale markets the rest of the time. The Fluence IQ Bidding Application will optimise the bidding strategy of the Longwarry energy storage system to ensure it maximises wholesale market revenue whilst also delivering on its commitments to support the local distribution network.
Bidding application
The Bidding Application analyses thousands of variables to provide leading price forecasting and optimisation using proprietary machine learning algorithms, enabling battery asset owners and operators like Gransolar/E22 to optimise bidding and dispatch in Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM). The resulting market-compliant bids can increase revenue for energy storage owners and operators, whilst also incorporating complex off-market contract structures such as NSAs.
Also read: Energy Storage Systems In The APAC Region: Opportunities, Challenges And Business Cases
Growing need for AI-based bidding software
“We are very pleased to help Gransolar/E22 maximise the performance of its first energy storage project in the NEM and navigate the volatility and complexities of Australia’s energy market. As grid-scale energy storage plays an increasing role in Australia’s clean energy transition, we see a growing need for AI-based bidding software to manage these renewable assets. Co-optimising the full value stack of wholesale market participation simultaneously with the demands of a network support agreement is a complex task that requires a powerful software layer.” Fluence’s Chief Digital Officer Seyed Madaeni commented.
