Answers to Questions

Blyth Battery

In reply to the Hon. F. PANGALLO ().22 February 2024).

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries): The Minister for Energy and Mining advises he has been made aware of the concerns raised by Republicans Mike Gallagher and Marco Rubio in the United States Congress' Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, as referred to in the honourable member's question. The minister is also aware of Duke Energy's voluntary decision to disconnect Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Ltd (CATL) batteries at a US Marine camp despite there being no ban on their use in the United States.

The minister is also aware that on 7 December 2023, the publicly-traded CATL said the security allegations were false and misleading. CATL says its batteries are passive devices that do not collect, sell, or share data and cannot directly interact with the electrical grid or any other critical infrastructure. CATL's batteries have been supplied to other battery energy storage systems around the world including US projects in Texas and Nevada, and have passed rigorous safety and security reviews.

In South Australia, Neoen Australia's Blyth BESS is a 238.5 megawatt/477 megawatt hour battery under construction. The lithium ion cells at Blyth which have been provided by CATL are not intelligent. Their role is simply to store energy in chemical form. They do not possess their own software, nor do they participate in the systems controlling the asset.

From a regulatory perspective, prior to a utility-scale battery achieving grid registration it must pass operational readiness testing (including cybersecurity) by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).

The Australian government requires that utility-scale batteries are subject to the requirements of the Security of Critical Infrastructure Act 2018 (the SOCI Act). The SOCI Act places positive cybersecurity obligations on entities in relation to risk management, the reporting of incidents to the Australian Cyber Security Centre and providing ownership and operational information to a register managed by the Australian government.

The South Australian Department for Energy and Mining is not aware of any of Australia's cyber safety institutions publicly raising concerns about the installation of foreign-sourced batteries, grid-scale or otherwise. CATL batteries have already been installed in Western Australia and the Australian Capital Territory.

The South Australian government's assessment of battery storage projects is primarily focused on capacity, their contribution to security and reliability of the electrical system. Utility-scale BESS systems are licensed by the Essential Services Commission of South Australia.