Tesla's big battery, the Hornsdale Power Reserve, is by far the largest lithium-ion battery in the world. Its owner and operator said the installation recorded a five-fold increase in revenue in the first quarter, which provided a 65 percent increase in revenue in the first quarter for the group.

Neoen is the French based owner and operator of the Tesla big battery at Hornsdale. According to Renew Economy, the company recived revenue from storage operations increased to $36.2 million in the first quarter of 2020, compared with $4.54 million in the first quarter of 2019. The large Tesla battery in Hornsdale earned more revenue in the first quarter than in the entire last year, when it recorded an annual revenue growth of 14% to $33.2 million.

It also means that total revenue from the Hornsdale battery has already exceeded its construction cost in little more than two years since it began operations in late 2017. 

The Hornsdale battery is estimated to have delivered savings of at least $150 million to consumers by keeping electricity and system costs below where they would have been in its absence, when the market was totally controlled by the state’s existing gas operators.

In addition to financial gain, Hornsdale Power Reserve has played a critical role in keeping the lights on, and is recognised for playing a critical role in helping planners and system engineers plot the path towards a zero carbon grid.

The large Hornsdale battery is currently expanding and it is expected that by the end of June it will have a capacity of 150 MW/194 MWh - compared to 100 MW/129 MWh - and add new services to its portfolio.

Image: Neoen

This includes critical new roles in providing inertia and “grid forming” capabilities that will advance the role of battery storage in pushing conventional generation such as gas plants out of the system.

“(It) will showcase the complete benefits that grid-scale batteries can provide to the National Electricity Market (NEM) and Australian consumers,” the company says.

The strong performance of the Hornsdale battery enabled Neoen to deliver a 61 per cent lift in revenue of € 95.8 million in the first quarter of 2020. At constant exchange rates, revenue was up 65%.

“During this period, the Australian Energy Market Operator asked Neoen to operate the HPR battery facility to increase grid stability. That gave Neoen a key role in maintaining grid’s reliability, while continuing to keep electricity costs down for Australian users, ”the company said in a statement.