Energy Storage & Battery

Overview

Grid-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS) are now a significant and growing part of the NEM. Australia has deployed more than 3 GW of grid-scale battery capacity, with the Hornsdale Power Reserve (South Australia) being the world’s most studied large-scale battery project. Energy Copilot provides comprehensive analytics for BESS operators, investors, and market analysts.

Key BESS Facilities

Facility	State	Capacity	Duration	Owner
Victorian Big Battery (Moorabool)	VIC	300 MW / 450 MWh	1.5h	AGL/Neoen
Hornsdale Power Reserve	SA	150 MW / 193.5 MWh	1.3h	Neoen
Capital Battery (Canberra)	ACT	50 MW / 50 MWh	1h	ActewAGL
Waratah Super Battery (proposed)	NSW	850 MW / 1,680 MWh	2h	Akaysha
Eraring Battery (under const.)	NSW	460 MW / 920 MWh	2h	Origin Energy

Dashboard Pages

BESS Dispatch Overview (/front-office/battery-dispatch)

• Current charge/discharge status for all registered BESS DUIDs
• State of charge (SOC) estimates based on dispatch history
• Charge/discharge cycle count (daily, monthly, cumulative)
• Revenue breakdown: energy arbitrage vs FCAS vs network services

Battery Economics (/front-office/battery-economics)

• Arbitrage P&L calculator: model expected returns based on historical price spreads
• LCOE comparison: levelised cost of storage vs spot price revenue
• Revenue stack: energy, FCAS (8 services), RERT, network services
• Payback analysis: configurable capex, opex, degradation rate, discount rate

Degradation Modelling (/front-office/battery-degradation)

The platform models battery degradation using a cycle-based and calendar-based approach:

Capacity_remaining(%) = 100 - (Cycle_Degradation_pct × Cycles) - (Calendar_Degradation_pct × Years)

Where:

• Cycle_Degradation_pct: typically 0.003–0.008% per full cycle for NMC chemistry
• Calendar_Degradation_pct: typically 1–2% per year depending on operating temperature

Users can input actual degradation observations to calibrate the model against real performance data.

Arbitrage Optimisation

The platform provides a simplified arbitrage optimisation analysis:

# Optimal charge/discharge schedule for a 4-hour battery
# Given price forecast for next 24 hours
def calculate_arbitrage_schedule(
    prices_24h: list[float],
    capacity_mw: float,
    duration_h: float,
    efficiency: float = 0.92
) -> dict:
    """
    Returns optimal charge/discharge schedule maximising revenue.
    Uses dynamic programming over discretised state of charge.
    """
    ...

The Middle Office Battery Optimisation page provides the full operational optimisation tool with real-time price data.

FCAS Revenue from Batteries

Batteries are particularly well-suited to FCAS markets because:

1. They can respond in milliseconds (vs minutes for thermal generators)
2. They can simultaneously provide multiple FCAS services (regulation + contingency)
3. Their FCAS availability is not limited by fuel supply

Screenshot: Hornsdale Power Reserve FCAS enablement timeline showing simultaneous regulation raise, regulation lower, and contingency services enabled.

FCAS Revenue Analysis

GET /api/battery/fcas-revenue?duid=HPRL1&start=2025-03-14&end=2025-03-21

# Response
{
  "duid": "HPRL1",
  "period": {"start": "2025-03-14", "end": "2025-03-21"},
  "fcas_revenue_aud": 142350,
  "energy_revenue_aud": 28940,
  "total_revenue_aud": 171290,
  "fcas_services_enabled": ["RAISE6SEC", "LOWER6SEC", "RAISE60SEC", "LOWER60SEC", "RAISEREG", "LOWERREG"]
}

Second-Life Battery Value

As the first generation of large-scale BESS approaches end of warranty (~10 years), second-life analysis becomes commercially important. The platform includes:

• Remaining useful life (RUL) estimation based on degradation model
• Second-life use case matching: grid services, off-grid, EV charging infrastructure
• Repurposing economics: cost of refurbishment vs value of remaining capacity
• Carbon accounting: embodied carbon in manufacturing vs lifecycle extension

Note

Second-life calculations use the gold.battery_degradation_models table, which is seeded with chemistry-specific parameters from manufacturer datasheets. Users can override parameters via the settings panel.

API Endpoints

# Current BESS dispatch across NEM
GET /api/battery/dispatch/latest

# BESS for specific DUID
GET /api/battery/dispatch?duid=HPRL1&period=7d

# Arbitrage opportunity analysis
GET /api/battery/arbitrage?region=SA1&capacity_mw=100&duration_h=2

# Degradation projection
POST /api/battery/degradation
Content-Type: application/json
{
  "initial_capacity_mwh": 193.5,
  "current_cycles": 1842,
  "age_years": 6.5,
  "chemistry": "NMC",
  "avg_dod_pct": 85
}