Australia's biggest battery

The biggest battery project on any of Australia’s main grids – a 2,400MWh (2.4GWh) facility located just 25kms from Melbourne’s CBD – has won environmental approval from the Federal Labor government.

The 1.2GW, two hour battery (2.4GWh) Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub is proposed by Equis Australia, a company that took over the lead on the project, and full ownership, from Syncline Energy, which still retains a development role.

The battery will not just be the biggest in Australia – beating the 500MW/2GWh Collie battery being built by Synergy in Western Australia and the 850MW/1.65GWh Waratah Super battery now under construction in NSW – it will also be the biggest in Asia.

It is also equivalent to the size of the newly launched battery tender by the federal government, under its new Capacity Investment Scheme, to fill predicted reliability gaps in Victoria and South Australia.

“This is another step towards building a renewables future,” environment minister Tanya Plibersek said in a statement this week. “The project will be able to store the extra energy generated by solar panels on Victorian roofs, helping to deliver reliable renewable energy for Victoria.

“We know renewable energy is cheaper, cleaner, and crucial to helping us cut emissions and reach our goal of net zero by 2050. Projects like this will help us transform our energy system and build it for the future.”

Equis is backed by some deep pocketed investment funds, including the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board.

The $1.9 billion MREH project – a final investment decision is expected before the end of the year – is expected to be built in two stage – both 600MW and 1200MWh – with the first stage having three different connection points of 200MW each.

This will make it easier, the company says, to provide a range of different services to the grid, including short term system security and longer term storage, and its key position – along a 500kV transmission line – will support Victoria’s Murray River, Western Victoria and South Victoria Renewable Energy Zones.

The project is expected to create up to 365 jobs over construction and a further 30 ongoing positions, the government said. The project also includes the construction of a small, neighbouring solar farm, most recently suggested at 12.5 MW.

Equis is also developing battery storage projects in South Australia (Koolunga), NSW (Calala), and Queensland (Lower Wonga).

Giles Parkinson is founder and editor of Renew Economy, and is also the founder of One Step Off The Grid and founder/editor of the EV-focused The Driven. Giles has been a journalist for 40 years and is a former business and deputy editor of the Australian Financial Review.