ARENA recently partnered with the Australian Energy Market Operator, NEOEN, and Siemens-Gamesa Australia to explore whether wind farms can perform system stability services for the electricity market.

The Australian-first trial tested whether the Hornsdale Wind Farm 2 could be remotely controlled to deliver Frequency Control Ancillary Services, and the initial results are promising (FCAS help keep the power system in tune at a stable frequency).

Trialled over the peak 2017-18 summer period, the wind farm delivered across six of the eight different FCAS markets and met the project’s objectives. Without any major outages during the trail, the potential for the wind farm to deliver full FCAS contingencies could not be evaluated.

Together with the Hornsdale Power Reserve (aka the world’s biggest battery), Hornsdale Wind Farm 2 lowered FCAS prices from the historically observed $9000/MWh to just $248/MWh. AEMO expect that reduced the cost of the five-hour local South Australian FCAS requirement by approximately $3.5 million.

The successful trial has led the Hornsdale 2 Wind Farm to now be registered and offering FCAS in the National Electricity Market (NEM) – another first for an Australian wind farm.

Read more about the trial at AEMO Energy Live.