Join us for the opening keynote speech from Mr Salim Mazouz, who will be talking about “Australia’s biggest ever renewable announcement”, the Capacity Investment Scheme. With the commitment to 32GW of renewables across Australia, 9GW of this into energy storage, how will this enable Australia to reach its goals of 82% renewable energy by 2030? 2023 was coined the “Year of the Big Battery”, what is the outlook for energy storage and how can the momentum be capitalised on?

By 2050, it is estimated that between 46-59GW of energy storage will be needed in Australia, with 20GW of RES alone required to hit 2030 targets. Governments at both a state and federal level are pushing investment and deployment into energy storage, and Australia is widely seen as a very attractive market due to negative pricing, volatility, and opportunity. However, this excitement is not without its obstacles, which the Summit will seek to address.

2024-2025 looks to be one of the most exciting years for Australia with several federal schemes coming to the forefront. This keynote panel looks at the hot topics that everyone wants to hear more about, and highlights what it means for you.

• The Capacity Investment Scheme – Australia’s “biggest announcement” brief overview
• The System Integrity Protection Scheme – Waratah Super Battery and Victoria Big Battery are two key examples. How can these systems be used to protect the grid against climate disasters and sweeping weather patterns?
• Looking at various other developments within energy storage across Australia, such as access right tenders expected to be released Q1/Q2
• What makes the swathe of new policy and regulatory changes different to others which have come out in the past?

The second keynote panel of the day discusses one of the most important topics when considering energy storage systems – barriers to market. In Australia, this is compounded by the requirement of technical innovation and solutions not seen elsewhere in the world. This session will provide as an introductory insight into deployment, looking at key issues that developers must be aware of.

• Permitting and regulation – how to set yourself up before starting and looking at how these regulations vary from state-to-state
• Where to connect on the grid and what size development to build?
• Timelines to getting approval on projects
• What would make building energy storage projects easier?
• Other considerations such as fire safety and difficulties when deploying capital

With an ever-growing pipeline of large-scale energy storage projects at both operational stage and under construction, this panel will examine some of the most important questions for anyone investing in battery storage: revenue, risk and reward. What do you need to know about emerging business models, trends and revenue streams in Australia?

• A quick guide to ancillary services in the NEM – FCAS, NSCAS, SRAS
• Aside from frequency response, what are the best revenue streams available for batteries in Australia? If saturation were to happen in FFR, what next?
• How attractive is the merchant opportunity for batteries in Australia? Are investors more willing to take on merchant risk for better returns?
• What is the potential for future revenue stacking where the grid is concerned?
• When it comes to operational assets, what tools are available to drive performance, extend lifetime, and manage warranties?

Once an asset is built and connected, the job isn’t finished there. This panel looks at optimisation and maintenance of energy storage systems and how this can be maximised.

• How can optimisation techniques can aid revenue growth and unlock new revenue streams for asset owners and operators?
• What are effective trading techniques and the importance of revenue capture?
• Looking at the lifecycle of the battery – 10, 20, 30 years. How will this impact the efficiency of the battery and how can maintenance and optimisation extend lifetime?
• The importance of looking after a battery and how this can be beneficial for operators and investors – maximising commissioning value.
• What are costs that may not be realized? Effective management entails upkeep, which can add additional costs for the operator. How can these be effectively balanced outside of ensuring profitability?
• From an asset owner/operator perspective, what are the major lessons learned as more projects have come online and entered operations?

What type of contract or structure is best to finance a healthy energy storage project with a long-life expectancy and good ROI for investors?

• Project finance: What will it take for conventional banks to get behind energy storage projects in Australia?
• Could tolling structures be successfully implemented in Australia?
• The future of LTESA’s for energy storage

Connecting to the grid is one of the most important aspects of deployment in energy storage, which is especially the case in Australia. Deciding where to connect on the grid, which nodes or which technology can support the process are some of the key challenges currently for developers in Australia.

• What new technology and innovation can be implemented when connecting to the grid?
• What should developers prioritise when connecting an energy storage asset?
• Opportunities of reducing system strength charges with grid forming inverters
• What regulatory challenges are developers seeing which may cause a hinderance when connecting?

55% of the large-scale energy storage installations between 2021 and 2030 will take place on co-located sites. What are the opportunities and challenges presented by colocation? Bringing hybridisation in can bridge the gap between generation and utilisation.

• What are the benefits of co-located sites and how can revenue opportunities be unlocked?
• How can hybridisation and co-location be used in tandem?
• How important is co-location in the decommissioning of power plants and Australia’s 2030 goals?
• How can owning co-located assets help get around issues related to grid constraints?

Australia has committed to tripling their renewable energy capacity by 2030, with the Australian government underwriting 32GW of capacity in an attempt to stimulate investment. This amount is said to be around half of the current demand on the NEM.

• What contributed to the downturn in private sector investment into Australia, and how are the CfD-led auctions expected to change this?
• How can a combination of government, regulatory bodies and industry boost confidence for private sector investors in Australia?
• Aside from government-led incentives, what other financial structures are investors looking for?

In December 2022, ARENA announced $176m in funding for 8 large scale grid-forming battery projects. With a total project value of $2.7 billion and a capacity of 2.0 GW / 4.2 GWh these projects represent a tenfold increase in grid-forming electricity storage capacity currently operational in the National Electricity Market. ARENA will provide an update on the status of these projects and the outlook for the role of grid-forming inverters going forward. In addition to grid-forming batteries, ARENA is also looking at emerging storage technologies and the potential role of medium-long duration storage. ARENA will provide an update on its plans to support demonstration and scale-up of emerging storage technologies.

South Australia is fast closing in on its target of 100% of net renewables, with this rising to 500% by 2050. Join us in this fireside chat with the South Australian Department of Energy and Mining to talk about everything energy storage.

• Highlight of successful projects
• What is the demand for Energy Storage?
• Forecast for the upcoming year.

The NEM is seen to be one of the largest and most volatile networks in the world and as a result, energy storage has a key part to play in its reformation. Following on from the fireside chat, our keynote panel will explore the unique opportunities presented by the NEM and how to effectively integrate storage into it.

• How can the NEM respond to the challenge of energy storage?
• The core challenge – grid connections and how is this being managed?
• Revenue opportunities and what makes energy arbitrage appealing
• Technology solutions
• Streamlining the process

Distribution networks are responsible for managing the energy flow between transmission networks and end-users. With the focus on ‘big-batteries’, is the solution for Australia hidden within the distribution energy networks?

• What role can community batteries play within the distribution network and what are the advantages of these?
• The potential of behind the meter solutions – what role do they have to play in a landscape dominated by the grid-scale narrative?
• How will Distributed Energy Resources enable a more dynamic energy network?
• What are the benefits of building small-medium size battery energy storage systems compared to large, utility scale sites?

SunCable is one of the most ambitious projects globally, aiming to produce between 36-42 GWh of battery storage, alongside a 17-20 GW Solar Farm. Connecting to Singapore via undersea cables, this project will support Darwin in becoming a green export superpower underwritten by 24/7 baseload green energy. Undertaking new ownership in 2023, join us for this Case Study Presentation, to learn more about how Darwin and SunCable can enable the transition.

Whilst it is widely accepted that lithium batteries are the most efficient option now, to reach Australia’s renewable targets and develop the best projects, the future seems to lie in long-duration energy storage (LDES). This panel explores how long-duration can scale in the current market, and the excitement surrounding it.

•  Long-duration: What does it look like and how is it being used (some smaller examples in Aus, e.g. 50MW 8hr storage capabilities)
• Feasibility – how soon can LDES enter the market and what do you need to know?
• Is it lithium, or something else? A glance at battery chemistries and what the key ones are (e.g. LTO’s)
• What opportunity (revenue) does LDES offer in the Australian market?

Whilst grid-scale batteries dominate headlines, there is another driving force of energy storage in Australia – consumer and commercial batteries. This fireside chat looks at the benefits and reasons for building Virtual Power Plants and residential consumption.

• How can consumers enable the transition to net-zero goals?
• What is the benefit from a business standpoint in adopting batteries?
• How can energy producers take advantage of this opportunity?
• Why take the commercial route?

AEMO (2023) identified storage between 4 to 12 hours duration as “the most pressing utility-scale need in the next decade”, what role does Solar Thermal Storage have to play in this? With upwards of 80% of Australia’s fuel use involving a thermal process, how can this translate into the transition towards renewables?