Summary
Key Energy partnered with The Armidale School (TAS) to develop an Australia-first hybrid flywheel/Li-Co-Mn battery storage solution to meet their needs and which is designed to integrate with their existing rooftop solar installation. TAS, under its forward-looking management, have sought a technology solution that is low cost, low carbon footprint, and robust, and Key Energy is fortunate enough to partner with them. Under the arrangement, Key owns the asset and works closely with TAS on the operation of the plant.
Problem
TAS presented a unique demand problem where the school was subject to price spikes due to its around the clock energy requirement from operating numerous boarding houses.
Solution
KEY worked closely with TAS to design a hardware solution to meet this demand, utilising four 8/32kWh mechanical flywheels integrated with a 100kW/270+kWh lithium-ion battery. KEY have implemented their own software solution, the Smart ENergy Storage Solution for Alpha (SENSSA™) to further optimise the financial ROI and functioning of the system by lengthening the lifetime of the battery and optimising the flywheel’s efficiency.
Benefits
The benefits of the hybrid solution for this use case are:
- Longer lifespan – utilising the mix of flywheels and batteries maximises the independent life of both storage systems.
- Greater economic savings across demand charges and energy usage charges.
- Flexibility of charge/discharge profile.
- Low LCOS on a total cost of ownership 20-30 year project life basis.
- Lower fire risk – the main element being used are flywheels which do not use chemicals, with batteries providing a supporting role when demand spikes too high.
