Construction has commenced on the New England region’s first large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) at ACEN’s New England Solar project near Uralla, marking a significant milestone in renewable energy development for the region.
BESS technology is critical to the success of the renewable transition, enabling renewable power to be cheaper, providing grid stability, and supporting the integration of renewable energy into the electricity network.
The 400 megawatt-hour project is located at ACEN Australia’s 720 MW New England Solar project,about eight kilometres southeast of Uralla, and is being built by Energy Vault. The battery project integrates advanced grid-forming inverters to provide system strength, stability, and network security services. It is the first large-scale battery storage project to begin construction with support from the NSW Government’s Emerging Energy Program.
With 1,400 MW/2 hours of storage capacity approved, the project has potential for future expansion to provide additional energy storage and services.
“This is the first large-scale battery storage project to be built in New England, so this is a great milestone for the region and the National Electricity Market,” said ACEN Australia’s Head of Construction and Engineering, Tim Greenaway.
“Our geotechnical and design work is almost complete and work to install the electrical infrastructure to connect the battery is well underway,” he said.
“We expect the civil and base electrical work for the BESS to begin over the next month or two, ready for the delivery of the battery modules in second half of the year.”
The New England Battery project will provide energy on demand to customers in NSW and Queensland. The 200MW/2-hour system is the first of two planned installations at the site, using lithium-ion technology and an advanced inverter for grid support.
“There’s a lot of attention worldwide on the battery storage market in Australia, and so we’re very happy to be making a positive contribution here on such an important project,” said Energy Vault Vice President of Sales Asia, Lucas Sadler.
The project will engage workers and contractors from Uralla, Tamworth, and Armidale, supported by teams from other states. An expanded switching yard is being developed to connect the system to Transgrid’s transmission network. Lumea is leading the switching yard work, with commissioning expected mid-year.
Momentum in BESS deployments in Australia has surged in the last year, with an increasing number of proposals across the country. As well as green fields construction of BESS systems planned at a number of solar and wind farms in the REZ, former coal plant sites are attracting battery projects, such as AGL’s 1GWh Liddell Battery Project in NSW and Queensland’s expanded Stanwell Clean Energy Hub battery (1.2GWh).
Top image: New England Solar Project Manager Sarah Donnan, Energy Vault CEO and Chair Robert Piconi and ACEN Australia Head of Construction and Engineering Tim Greenaway (supplied)
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