DC/DC: Wärtsilä Project Designed to Make Solar-Storage More Efficient in Australia

Finnish energy project group Wärtsilä is taking the most direct route, technology wise, to scaling up battery storage capacity in Australia.

Wärtsilä Energy Storage is booking a new order to deliver Australia’s largest direct current (DC)-coupled hybrid battery project. The DC-to-DC coupling of solar and battery storage will reduce energy losses for a system designed to power up to 12,000 homes and businesses.

It will be the company’s second DC-coupled energy project in Australia.

“This project is significantly larger than our earlier DC-coupled project, underscoring the need for this type of technology in expanding at scale,” said David Hebert, vice president of global sales management, Wärtsilä Energy Storage. “It’s particularly exciting to work on the largest DC-coupled project in the country; DC-coupled technology is a breakthrough for hybrid renewable plants and a critical step towards establishing a financially viable renewable energy future.”

The hybrid project will help reduce curtailment and allow for greater contribution to grid stability, the company says. Direct-current coupling design enables solar generation to flow directly to the battery via a DC/DC converter, minimizing energy losses and capturing excess solar that would otherwise go to waste, boosting both efficiency and project economics.

Wärtsilä’s GEMS intelligent controls and optimization software will manage integration of both the energy storage system and solar assets with the grid’s connection requirements. The GEMS Hybrid Power Plant Controller (PPC) ensures coordination between the solar farm and storage system.

The DC-coupled battery installation is scheduled to be operational by 2028. It is Wärtsilä’s ninth utility-scale battery project in Australia, although this latest is, by far, the largest DC-to-DC undertaking.