GHD Battery EnergyStorage Systems Guidance Report

Australian Energy Council Limited 24 March 2023

The transition to renewable energy generation requires energy storage solutions to preserve the current system resilience, ensuring that supply matches the demand needs within Australia. The progressive advancement and development of battery chemistry and technology has resulted in the global uptake of grid-scale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facilities. There have been a number of larger BESS installations in the past decade; most notably, the South Australian Hornsdale and Victorian Big Battery facilities. Although these grid-scale applications of batteries are advantageous, there have been several self-heating, thermal runaway and other incidents which have highlighted hazards and risks which need further consideration.