Fluence wins auto-bidding contract with grid-supporting battery in Victoria

Renewable energy technology provider Fluence has struck a deal to deploy its automated electricity trading platform to a battery energy storage system in Longwarry, Victoria, marking a first for the company’s IQ Bidding Application in Australia.

The Longwarry BESS, which is being developed by the E22 battery division of Spanish renewables giant Gransolar, is a 5MW/7.5MWh lithium-ion system contracted to support the Ausnet grid at times of high wind and solar congestion, while participating in wholesale markets the rest of the time.

It is the first of 13 small, grid-scale batteries Gransolar last year committed to build across South Australia, Victoria and NSW, with a collective capacity of 300 megawatts and one to two hours of storage each.

The Fluence IQ Bidding Application works by analysing thousands of variables to provide leading price forecasting and to optimise bidding and dispatch in the National Electricity Market (NEM).

This includes further maximising generation when demand is high, or avoiding generation during periods of oversupply and negative prices – or in the case of big batteries, charging up at times of low demand.

In Australia, it has been deployed at the 333MW Darlington Point solar farm in NSW, and just last month was tapped for use at a further two renewable energy projects, the 232MW Murra Warra 1 wind farm in Victoria and the 88MW Emerald solar park in Queensland.

In a statement on Wednesday, Fluence said its IQ Bidding Application would optimise the performance of the Longwarry BESS to ensure it made the most from wholesale market revenue while also delivering on its commitments to support Ausnet.

The company also welcomed the deal with E22 as its first foray into an a new market segment, in providing digital products to the emerging small grid-scale energy storage market.

“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,” said Fluence chief digital offer, Seyed Madaeni.

“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,” Madaeni said.

E22 general manager, Jaime Vega, said Fluence’s Bidding Application would help the company navigate its first energy storage project in Australia, and to fulfil its Network Services Agreement with Ausnet.

“In addition to the Longwarry project, we are excited by the prospect of a continuing collaboration with Fluence in Australia,” said Jaime Vega, General Manager at E22.