Australia’s longest duration battery will come online this year, a major milestone as the power grid charges towards a mostly renewable energy future.
When fully charged, the Limondale battery in south-west New South Wales will be able to pump 50MW of power back into the grid over eight hours.
“Long-duration storage technologies, such as large-scale batteries and pumped hydro, are set to play a fundamental role in supporting Australia’s transition to clean energy,” says Veronika Nemes of the Clean Energy Council. This type of storage will be critical for grid stability and security, she says, as coal retires over the next decade.
But what is a long-duration battery, and why does it matter? And can it help with rare and unpredictable periods of renewable drought called “dunkelflaute”?
How does the Limondale battery work?
The eight-hour battery is next to the Limondale solar farm, near Balranald in the Murray region of NSW.
