Lithium energy storage for remote Snowy Hydro sites

Snowy Hydro needed dependable power at remote off-grid solar sites supporting Snowy Hydro 1 and 2. Valen Power supplied and installed a complete solar and lithium storage system built around the ENLiFEN Energy Storage Optimiser, then stayed involved with technical support visits after commissioning.

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The client

Snowy Hydro operates the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme, one of Australia’s most significant renewable energy assets. Its work spans some of the most rugged and isolated country in New South Wales.

The challenge

Several sites supporting Snowy Hydro 1 and 2 sit well away from any grid connection. They run on solar, which means the battery system has to carry the load through every night and every stretch of poor weather, in an alpine environment where getting a technician to site is never quick.

Snowy Hydro needed an energy storage system it could rely on, specified to its own requirements and backed by a supplier that would support it on the ground.

Design

Valen Power’s scope covered the supply of lithium batteries, inverters and solar panels to power the remote sites. At the centre of the system is the Valen ENLiFEN Energy Storage Optimiser (ESO), configured as ten 48V 100Ah lithium battery modules installed in a custom 19-inch cabinet.

The ESO is built from lithium iron phosphate (LiFePO4) cells and designed for sites where downtime is costly:

• Battery management at both the individual cell and module level
• Hot-swappable cells, so a fault can be addressed without taking the whole system offline
• Modular construction that scales to the site’s energy needs
• Remote monitoring capability, with three levels of control for client, installer and manufacturer

The Valen Power team developed the specifications with Snowy Hydro and put a formal sign-off procedure in place before manufacture began. Every detail of the design was agreed before a single module was built.

Deliver

Valen Power supplied and installed the lithium batteries, inverters and solar panels at the remote sites. Housing the ESO modules in a custom 19-inch cabinet kept the installation compact, organised and protected.

Support

The outcome

The project was completed in March 2020. Snowy Hydro’s remote sites now run on a solar and lithium storage system designed to its specification and installed by the team that built it.

Valen Power’s involvement did not end at handover. Technical staff made multiple support visits to the sites, giving Snowy Hydro direct access to the people who know the system best.

• Reliable off-grid power at remote sites with no grid connection
• A system specified with, and signed off by, the client before manufacture
• Modular lithium storage that can be serviced cell by cell
• Hands-on technical support from Valen Power after installation

Beyond hydro

Any remote site that runs on solar faces the same question: will the storage hold up when it matters? Combining modular ENLiFEN lithium storage with a clear specification and sign-off process and ongoing site support is how Valen Power delivers power that keeps remote infrastructure running.