Battery storage technology to be mounted on power poles
Powerco is installing low voltage Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) on five power poles in the Tauranga suburb of Greerton in a trial aimed at helping supply power to homes and businesses in the area at peak electricity use times.
The BESS units will be mounted to a power pole on each of the following streets: Yatton Street, Mitchell St, Harrier St, Roys Rd and Pemberton Cres, during February and March.
The pole-mounted batteries are designed to automatically store power during the night when the electricity network has spare capacity and then releasing it to supplement the network and maintain power quality when it would otherwise be short, Powerco General Manager Electricity Karen Frew says.
“Greerton has undergone intensive in-fill housing, meaning there are more houses in the neighbourhood than what the electricity network there was originally designed for.
“The chargeable batteries are an innovative way of supplying the neighbourhood at peak electricity use times, such as first thing in the morning and in the late afternoon and early evenings, when everyone is home making meals and using appliances,” Karen Frew says.
“We’re the first electricity distribution company to use this innovative technology in New Zealand. It’s used successfully in Australia. However, as they are new equipment on our network, we’ll be monitoring their performance to ensure they are helping supply enough power during peak demand in the neighbourhood.”
Preparing for the future of electricity
While the BESS units in Greerton are specifically designed to help with electricity supply during peak times in the suburb, Powerco is preparing for the future of electricity with BESS units integral as the company moves towards being a distribution system operator (DSO), Powerco DSO Programme Director Ryno Verster says.
“The future will see widespread bidirectional power flows. This is where electricity flow isn’t one way – from power lines to customers. Instead, homes and businesses will produce their own renewable electricity via the likes of solar panels on their roof, use it and feed what’s not used back into the electricity network.”
In the future, the BESS units will act as a “solar sponge”, storing excess power generated by residential rooftop solar power during the day so that it’s available to put back into the network during peak times.
“This way of distributing electricity and supporting communities is the future of electricity. Customers generating power via the sun can, rather than wasting or storing production in batteries in their homes, which is unattainable for many, store excess energy on the network. Here it will be ready to sustainably top-up local homes and businesses’ power when it’s needed,” he says.
Above: The BESS unit on a wooden power pole in Australia. The BESS units in Greerton will be mounted on a double concrete pole (as seen in artist’s impression below).
