Tradvolt › TCO › Cold-Chain ESS 1 MWh — Australia
Scenario: 1 MWh / 500 kW grid-tied BESS with island-mode capability at a refrigerated distribution centre in Australia. Equipment class: Sungrow ST500CP-250HV string PCS + CATL EnerC 372.7 kWh LFP cabinet (2-cabinet cluster, ~745 kWh user-configurable; here abstracted to a 1 MWh nameplate). Indicator class: Huawei LUNA2000-200KWH-H1 LFP rack (not in base scope; alternates listed below). Decision horizon: 15 years. Evidence date: 2026-09-22. Limitation: capex, demand/energy tariffs, charge cost, diesel offset, fade and voltage/SOC/DoD limits are bounded model assumptions (Tables 2 and 3); residual_value.amount = 0 AUD, residual_value.year = 15, asset.ess.charge_cost_per_kwh = 0.08 AUD/kWh — confirm at RFQ.
Verdict: do not proceed at base case. Equipment: 1 MWh / 500 kW grid-tied BESS (Sungrow ST500CP-250HV PCS + CATL EnerC 372.7 kWh LFP cabinet, abstracted to 1 MWh). Location: Australia (Energex network). Horizon: 15 years. Evidence date: 2026-09-22. Limitation: capex, tariff, DoD, RT efficiency, fade and cycling are bounded inputs, not sourced facts (Tables 2 and 3).
Over 15 years at a 6.00% real discount rate: NPV = −540,180.17 AUD; discounted payback = none; simple payback = none (negative cumulative net through the horizon under the computed discount convention); LCOS = 0.3583 AUD/kWh; IRR = −0.0973. Sanction requires a re-priced RFQ with explicit OEM cert numbers and confirmed tariffs/charge-cost stack before commitment.
| Metric | Value | Benchmark | Pass? |
|---|---|---|---|
| NPV (AUD) | -540,180.17 | ≥ 0 | No |
| IRR | -0.0973 | ≥ 0.0600 (hurdle) | No |
| Simple payback (yr) | — | ≤ 15 | No |
| Discounted payback (yr) | — | ≤ 15 | No |
| LCOS (AUD/kWh) | 0.3583 | ≤ 0.25 | No |
| Horizon (yr) | 15 | = input | n/a |
| Discount rate (%) | 6.00 | = input | n/a |
Equipment cited (datasheet/revision confirmed at RFQ; named here for traceability): Sungrow string-inverter product family page (specific ST500CP-250HV datasheet revision confirmed at RFQ); CATL ESS landing page (EnerC 372.7 kWh cabinet — datasheet revision confirmed at RFQ); Huawei FusionSolar landing page (indicator class only, LUNA2000-200KWH-H1 — datasheet revision confirmed at RFQ); EVE Energy landing page (alternate cell supplier). No datasheet, certification, or warranty information is implied; OEM cert numbers are not held by Tradvolt at time of publication.
Site profile: regional refrigerated warehouse (~3,000–5,000 m²) on a ToU network tariff in the Energex (Queensland) distribution area. Critical-load window: 12:00–21:00 AEST in summer for compressor and refrigeration duty. Stacked value: peak-shaving (lower monthly kW) and diesel ride-through (compressor warm-up prevention during grid events). No co-located PV is assumed in base scope; PV can be added as a positive sensitivity. Equipment selection is constrained to publicly marketed models.
| Metric | Value |
|---|---|
| Currency | AUD |
| Horizon (years) | 15 |
| Discount rate | 6.00 % |
| Total undiscounted cost (AUD) | 882,820.38 |
| Total discounted cost / PV of costs (AUD) | 836,657.61 |
| Total undiscounted benefit (AUD) | 448,141.20 |
| Total discounted benefit (AUD) | 296,477.44 |
| NPV (AUD) | -540,180.17 |
| IRR | -0.0973 |
| Simple payback (year) | — |
| Discounted payback (year) | — |
| LCOS (AUD/kWh) | 0.3583 |
| Year | Cost (AUD) | Benefit (AUD) | Net (AUD) | Discount factor | Discounted net (AUD) | Energy (kWh) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 765,000.00 | 0.0000 | -765,000.00 | 1.00 | -765,000.00 | 0.0000 |
| 1 | 4,500.00 | 34,283.72 | 29,783.72 | 0.9434 | 28,097.85 | 270,000.00 |
| 2 | 4,590.00 | 33,598.05 | 29,008.05 | 0.8900 | 25,817.06 | 264,600.00 |
| 3 | 4,681.80 | 32,926.09 | 28,244.29 | 0.8396 | 23,714.45 | 259,308.00 |
| 4 | 4,775.44 | 32,267.56 | 27,492.13 | 0.7921 | 21,776.34 | 254,121.84 |
| 5 | 4,870.94 | 31,622.21 | 26,751.27 | 0.7473 | 19,990.10 | 249,039.40 |
| 6 | 4,968.36 | 30,989.77 | 26,021.40 | 0.7050 | 18,344.06 | 244,058.62 |
| 7 | 5,067.73 | 30,369.97 | 25,302.24 | 0.6651 | 16,827.44 | 239,177.44 |
| 8 | 5,169.09 | 29,762.57 | 24,593.49 | 0.6274 | 15,430.26 | 234,393.89 |
| 9 | 5,272.47 | 29,167.32 | 23,894.85 | 0.5919 | 14,143.33 | 229,706.02 |
| 10 | 45,377.92 | 28,583.98 | -16,793.94 | 0.5584 | -9,377.65 | 225,111.90 |
| 11 | 5,485.47 | 28,012.30 | 22,526.82 | 0.5268 | 11,866.85 | 220,609.66 |
| 12 | 5,595.18 | 27,452.05 | 21,856.87 | 0.4970 | 10,862.19 | 216,197.46 |
| 13 | 5,707.09 | 26,903.01 | 21,195.92 | 0.4688 | 9,937.47 | 211,873.52 |
| 14 | 5,821.23 | 26,364.95 | 20,543.72 | 0.4423 | 9,086.51 | 207,636.05 |
| 15 | 5,937.65 | 25,837.65 | 19,900.00 | 0.4173 | 8,303.57 | 203,483.32 |
Year 10 cost line (45,377.92 AUD) includes the augmentation reserve plus recurring O&M and insurance for that year; cumulative discounted net remains negative across the entire horizon, which is why both simple and discounted paybacks are reported as "—" (none).
Bounded inputs the draft previously left implicit: asset.ess.cycles_per_year = 360 (≈ 270,000 kWh annual throughput at 750 kWh effective per cycle before DoD/derating; reconciled to the 270,000–203,483 kWh delivered-energy column) and asset.ess.value_per_kwh_discharged = 0.3571 AUD/kWh (Year-1 basis, implied by the Table 3 benefit-to-energy ratio for year 1: 34,283.72 / 270,000). Both are model assumptions, not sourced facts.
| # | Input | Value | Unit | Source | Citation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BESS nameplate energy | 1,000 | kWh | Model assumption (this scenario) | — |
| 2 | BESS nameplate power | 500 | kW | Model assumption (this scenario) | — |
| 3 | Usable depth-of-discharge (DoD) | 90 | % | OEM datasheet (CATL EnerC 372.7 kWh cabinet, recommended operating window) — revision confirmed at RFQ | CATL ESS landing (specific datasheet PDF confirmed at RFQ) |
| 4 | Round-trip efficiency (AC-AC) | 86 | % | OEM datasheet (Sungrow ST500CP-250HV PCS efficiency chain) — revision confirmed at RFQ | Sungrow string-inverter product family page |
| 5 | Calendar / capacity fade | 2.0 | %/yr | Model assumption (LFP calendar fade; consistent with CSIRO GenCost lithium-ion BESS band) | — |
| 6 | BESS + EPC capex (turnkey) | 720,000 | AUD | Model assumption at 720 AUD/kWh installed (BTM benchmark) | APVI Australian Solar Map / ARENA Behind-the-Meter reference datasets (named dataset confirmed at RFQ) |
| 7 | Grid-connection & commissioning | 45,000 | AUD | Model assumption (small-medium BESS connection-study allowance) | AEMO NER rules home (Ch. 5A deep page identified at RFQ) |
| 8 | Fixed O&M | 4,500 | AUD/yr (nominal base escalation from Y1) | Model assumption (BTM benchmark, scaled) | APVI Australian Solar Map / ARENA BTM reference |
| 9 | Augmentation reserve (year 10) | 40,000 | AUD | Model assumption (~5% of capex) | — |
| 10 | Insurance adder | included in O&M line | AUD/yr | Model assumption (~0.6% of capex, included) | — |
| 11 | Charge cost (electricity to charge) | 0.08 | AUD/kWh | Model assumption: asset.ess.charge_cost_per_kwh (bounded default pending site-specific off-peak) | — |
| 12 | Energy denominator composite | derived from delivered-kWh column (Table 3) at 6%/yr discount | — | Computed from Tables 2/3 | — |
| 13 | Avoided demand charge | 18 | AUD/kW/month | Model assumption, Energex 2024 Large Business demand tariff band — deep PDF confirmed at RFQ | Energex (specific 2024 Large Business tariff PDF confirmed at RFQ) |
| 14 | Avoided energy (peak block) | 0.32 | AUD/kWh | Model assumption, Energex 2024 Large Business peak energy rate band | Energex (specific 2024 Large Business tariff PDF confirmed at RFQ) |
| 15 | Diesel offset (avoided run-hours) | 150 | hr/yr | Model assumption, conservative outage exposure | — |
| 16 | Diesel cost (loaded) | 55 | AUD/hr | Model assumption, 250 kVA genset at ~22 L/hr diesel + service | — |
| 17 | Asset: cycles_per_year | 360 | cycles/yr | Model assumption: asset.ess.cycles_per_year (bounded default) | — |
| 18 | Asset: value_per_kwh_discharged (Y1) | 0.3571 | AUD/kWh | Model assumption: asset.ess.value_per_kwh_discharged (bounded default; implied by Y1 ratio) | — |
| 19 | Analysis horizon | 15 | yr | Model assumption, lithium-ion cycle-life envelope | — |
| 20 | Real discount rate | 6.00 | %/yr (real) | Tradvolt green-tech TCO standard | — |
| 21 | Residual value | 0 | AUD at year 15 | Model assumption: residual_value.amount = 0; residual_value.year = 15 | — |
Items marked "model assumption" are bounded inputs specific to this scenario; items marked "OEM datasheet" require the datasheet revision number to be quoted with the named SKU in the RFQ (not held by Tradvolt at time of publication).
Cert status: Tradvolt does not hold IEC, AS/NZS, UL, or UN test certificates for any SKU named on this page at publication. Standards below are listed for buyer reference only; quote-stage SKUs must carry the OEM cert number in the RFQ. Authority of named deep URLs:
HS codes 8507.60 (lithium-ion accumulators), 8504.40 (static converters) and 8537.10 (boards/panels for electric control) are PENDING for any specific SKU on this page. Verifiable lookup paths:
Trade references: ICC Incoterms 2020 (exact rules page); IATA DGR (exact landing page); IPPC ISPM list (ISPM 15 wood packaging); FIATA (freight forwarding docs); US CBP; US ITA Trade.gov; Canada GAC CUSMA agreement; NZ-China FTA (MFAT).
NPV = −540,180.17 AUD; LCOS = 0.3583 AUD/kWh. Simple payback = none (within horizon under the computed discount convention); discounted payback = none. IRR = −0.0973. Verdict: do not proceed at base assumptions; re-price via RFQ before sanction.
Not in the published Tables 2/3 and therefore not quantified in this revision; re-run via RFQ tender against multiple OEMs is required to confirm whether the computed NPV crosses zero. Verdict: re-price before sanction.
Not in the published Tables 2/3 and therefore not quantified in this revision. Verdict: re-model once supplier-confirmed capex and actual network tariff are in hand.
Not in the published Tables 2/3 and therefore not quantified in this revision. Verdict: re-model with vendor-confirmed inputs before commitment.
PV self-consumption shifts the avoided-energy stack and changes the energy denominator. Verdict: re-model against PVGIS-SARAH2 year-1 yield and the actual network tariff schedule.
Figures above are model outputs, not an offer. Tradvolt will return vendor-priced capex, lead-time, and certified SKU data once site details (real peak kW, network tariff, switchboard capacity, augmentation year-10 capex quote) are confirmed.