A large-scale battery will be built near Kerang under a $50 million project to bolster Victoria’s power supply.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The lithium-ion battery, to be located at the Gannawarra Solar Farm, is one of two to be installed in a first for the state.
Construction will begin this month and both batteries will be commissioned in time for the summer peak.
The Gannawarra battery will be owned by Edify Energy and its partner Wirsol, and the battery will be supplied by Tesla.
ARENA says this project will demonstrate how an existing solar farm can be retrofitted with battery storage.
“We are very proud to have designed and delivered the first combined utility scale solar and storage facility in Victoria,” Edify Energy chief executive officer John Cole said.
“It is unprecedented in Australia at this scale and is among the largest in the world.
“The team has worked tirelessly to overcome many regulatory, technical and commercial challenges and create a very cool project – one that can deploy solar power at night.”
The other battery, to be located at Ballarat, will demonstrate how batteries can help provide grid stability and support on a congested transmission terminal.
The two batteries will be connected to the grid, and together will deliver 55 megawatts of power and provide approximately 80 megawatt hours of energy storage capacity.
EnergyAustralia will operate both batteries.
The project is funded by the federal government, through the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), and the state government.