Flywheel Energy Storage in Sydney Australia

Flywheel Energy Storage Systems present a highly effective, sustainable, and economical alternative to traditional battery storage, particularly for grid-interactive buildings. Their application in commercial properties, universities, and hospitals offers numerous benefits, including fast response times, longevity, and low environmental impact.

Key Energy has installed a three-phase flywheel energy storage system at a residence east of Perth, Western Australia. The 8 kW/32 kWh system was installed over two days in an above-ground enclosure, dramatically cutting the time needed to install the flywheel system.

Harnessing kinetic energy and perpetual motion, flywheels are a game-changing way of storing energy for use exactly when it's needed. Storage has always been an obstacle on the road to a fully electric future – batteries tend to be costly, cumbersome and dreadful for the environment. Not exactly ideal in pursuit of green energy solutions.

Flywheel storage was chosen based on five years of usage data. “As a large boarding school with energy needs that vary around the clock, the system's prime function is to remove the regular spikes in our grid electricity consumption which cost us very expensive network capacity penalties each month,” said the school.

In cases of power loss, flywheels can seamlessly transfer energy to critical systems while other backup systems, such as generators, come online. For instance, flywheel storage could support the ICU, operating theatres, and emergency departments where even a second of downtime could be catastrophic.

When the stored energy is needed, the rotational energy of the flywheel is converted back into electrical energy. Flywheels are capable of rapidly charging and discharging, making them ideal for short-term energy storage and providing grid support in moments of fluctuation.