France-based renewable energy company Neoen is working with energy storage and electric vehicle (EV) company Tesla on what will be Australia’s biggest battery yet.
Tuesday, Tesla and Neoen began installing the battery site in Victoria at a groundbreaking event ceremony near Geelong, as reported by Renew Economy. Victoria energy and climate minister, Lily D’Ambrosio, was also present at the event.
The Geelong site is planned to overtake the Hornsdale Power Reserve battery in South Australia, which was also built by Tesla and operated by Neoen, the new facility ultimately doubling its size and capacity. Tesla’s battery in Victoria will also offer 300MW and 450MW of battery storage and power, and is set to begin service within a year.
We’re getting the biggest battery in the Southern Hemisphere, and today we turned the sod on first works just outside Geelong.
This 300mw battery will mean we can all benefit from more renewables coming into the grid. 1/2 pic.twitter.com/YyfwNRKnXo
— Lily D'Ambrosio MP (@LilyDAmbrosioMP) December 1, 2020
Neoen said, “Grid-scale batteries can provide dynamic warp-speed responses so existing transmission lines can operate at full capacity.” Neoen continued, “Like adding another lane to a freeway, the battery can unlock additional capacity on existing transmission networks – saving customers millions of dollars in expensive transmission line upgrades.”
The Victoria site will feature a total of 210 Tesla Megapacks, each with a capacity of 3MWh. While the project still requires final approval from the local shire, the process is already underway and is expected to be approved within the next few weeks.
