SA utility-scale battery begins trading with OptiGrid

Lunio Energy, a utility-scale battery developer, has successfully commissioned its first Australian battery energy storage system (BESS) in South Australia with OptiGrid, an Australian battery optimisation and trading intelligence platform that is built for the National Electricity Market (NEM).

The 20 MWh BESS in Strathalbyn, South Australia is now participating in the NEM using OptiGrid’s OptiBidder platform to optimise energy trading and market bidding.

The platform uses proprietary AI-powered forecasting and optimisation algorithms to determine the maximum revenue for Strathalbyn’s grid-connected battery on the NEM.

By using the platform, the Strathalbyn battery will respond to market signals by optimising charge and discharge decisions, submitting bids across Contingency FCAS markets, and capturing value from price volatility and system needs.

“We selected OptiGrid to optimise trading of the Strathalbyn battery after OptiBidder showed strong results on the capture rate through our evaluation,” said Seth Thuraisingham, CEO of Lunio Energy. “Their team also brought real depth on the NEM and how batteries operate in South Australia, which gave us confidence through the investment decision. With the battery now live, OptiBidder is the engine that turns market volatility into revenue for the asset.”

Sahand Karimi, CEO of OptiGrid, said, “We’re delighted to be working with Lunio Energy on their first battery project in South Australia. The high penetration of renewable energy in South Australia, while bringing many benefits, creates price volatility that is difficult to accurately forecast and respond to. Our forecasting models and optimisation algorithms have been developed through years of research, and they’re built to turn that complexity into revenue.

“Beyond the technology, we configure OptiBidder to each operator’s trading strategy and commercial goals. With Lunio, we’re confident the Strathalbyn battery will perform at its best and deliver the maximum returns. It’s been great to see the battery already perform strongly through the recent South Australian price cap events in June.”

OptiGrid manages a portfolio of over 170 MW of assets across hybrid and standalone BESS projects. Based in South Australia, OptiGrid’s investors include the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, IP Group, Hostplus, UNSW, Adelaide University and EnergyLab.

Image caption: Strathalbyn BESS. Image: Supplied