The Australian Oil & Gas Review
BIG BATTERIES FUNDED
THE Victorian Government and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) have poured $50 million into two new large-scale battery projects for the State.
The projects include a 25MW/50MWH Tesla battery to be integrated at the existing 60MW Gannawarra Solar Farm, and a 30MW/30MWH Fluence system to connect directly to a vital grid intersection at a substation at Warrenheip.
The Tesla battery will be owned by Edify Energy and its partner Wirsol, while the Fluence battery will be built by a consortia led by Spotless Sustainability Services and owned by Ausnet.
Together, the projects will generate 55MW of energy and 80MWH of storage to provide backup power, grid-stabilisation, and reduce energy bills for Victorians.
They will also help ease constraints on Western Victorian transmission lines, which currently limit the output of existing wind and solar farms.
“Storage has been the missing piece of the energy jigsaw for a long time,” Federal Energy minister Josh Frydenberg said.
“These two large-scale, grid-connected batteries in Victoria are yet another investment that will help deliver more affordable and reliable energy for Australian households and businesses as we transition to a lower emissions future.”
Construction had already begun at both projects, which were expected to be operational by next summer.
“We said we would deliver this for Victoria, and that’s exactly what we’ve done,” Victorian Energy minister Lily D’ambrosio said.
“We are continuing to modernise our electricity grid, strengthen our energy security and deliver real action on climate change.”
Both batteries will be operated by Energyaustralia under long-term offtake agreements. Edify Energy chief executive John Cole said the company is proud to have designed and delivered the first combined utility scale solar and storage facility in Victoria.
“Without a doubt as the cost of battery storage falls, we see solar and storage becoming a ‘category killer’ in the energy sector and accelerating Australia’s transition to a clean energy future,” Mr Cole said.