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The 8MWh VFB storage system will provide over 10GWh dispatchable power to the local grid annually and will be charged from a solar PV plant.
- The Yadlamalka Energy Trust financed the project which cost A$20 million with grant support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
- VFBs are non-flammable and can operate in hot and arid regions without the need for extra fire suppression systems and are recyclable at the end of their lifecycle.
The world’s largest solar-powered vanadium flow battery (VFB) will in 2021 come online in Yadlamalka, South Australia. The VFB will be supplied by Invinity Energy Systems (IES) and will be charged by a solar PV array. The Battery system will be connected to the local grid and provide power on demand. The Energy system comprises of an 8-MWh VFB with a 6-MWp solar array which will supply about 10 GWh of ‘dispatchable’ solar energy annually.
The project cost a total of A$20 million (US$15.1 million) with financing being provided by the Yadlamalka Energy Trust. The project has also been supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), with a grant of A$5.7 million (US$4.3 million). The VFB will be dispatched by Habitat Energy, an optimization and trading platform for renewable and grid-scale battery storage assets.
VFBs were first developed at the University of New South Wales in the 1980s. They are an alternative to the ubiquitous lithium-ion batteries in stationary energy storage applications. They are however larger and more durable than lithium-ion batteries. They are also well primed for heavy-duty applications like time intermittent renewables since the daily charge, and discharge cycles do not degrade a VFB’s capacity even after long periods of use. The fact that they are non-flammable and can operate in hot and arid regions without the need for extra fire suppression systems and are recyclable at the end of their lifecycle makes them significantly advantageous over lithium-ion. These features make them suitable for grid-scale storage deployment alongside renewable energy sources like solar PV.