Australia, Northern Territory: The Northern Territory’s first grid-forming BESS is strengthening the Darwin–Katherine power network by delivering essential system services that were previously provided by gas turbines.
The Darwin–Katherine grid operates as a small, isolated system outside Australia’s National Electricity Market, meaning reliability, frequency control, voltage regulation and system strength must be managed locally. With more than 80 % of the Northern Territory’s electricity traditionally supplied by gas, turbines have long played a central role in both power generation and grid stability.
However, the rapid growth of solar generation has made network operation more complex. Gas turbines were increasingly being kept online not to produce electricity, but to provide stability services, resulting in fuel use, maintenance costs and emissions without additional energy output.
To address this challenge, Territory Generation selected Hitachi Energy to deliver a utility-scale battery system capable of replicating key gas turbine functions through advanced power electronics. Commissioned at Channel Island Power Station and connected to the 132 kV transmission network, the Darwin–Katherine BESS includes 192 battery units and advanced Hitachi Energy power plant control systems.
The system now provides services such as system strength, inertia, frequency control and voltage regulation independently, allowing gas turbines to be dispatched primarily when energy generation is required.
According to the project partners, the BESS is already delivering measurable results. Territory Generation is on track to achieve forecast savings, while the project has so far avoided more than 35,000 t of CO₂ emissions by reducing the need to run thermal assets solely for grid support.
For more than 180,000 people connected to the Darwin–Katherine network, the project supports a more flexible, responsive and lower-emissions power system.
Source: Hitachi Energy
