Jay Weatherill to announce details of massive solar and battery farm in South Australia’s Riverland
A HUGE billion-dollar solar and battery facility is expected to be operational by the end of the year, generating additional power for the electricity grid and creating hundreds of jobs in a struggling SA region.
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A BILLION-DOLLAR power storage project in the Riverland to fix South Australia’s power woes has been unveiled by Premier Jay Weatherill.
The Lyon Group plans to build the world’s biggest solar and battery storage facility — with 3.4 million solar panels and 1.1 million batteries — and have it running by the end of the year.
The Advertiser revealed a month ago that Lyon Group, which was already planning to build the world’s biggest facility at Roxby Downs, was planning something even bigger and was in discussions with the State Government.
The Roxby Downs facility, called Kingfisher, would power Olympic Dam and plug into the grid to help stabilise the whole system.
The Riverland scheme at Morgan will have 330 megawatts of generation capacity and 100 megawatts of storage.
Lyon Group partner David Green said 270 jobs would be created, with construction starting within months.
“Riverland Solar Storage’s 330 MW solar generation and 100MW battery storage system will be Australia’s biggest solar farm with 3.4 million solar panels and will also include 1.1 million batteries,” he said.
“If the 4.7 million solar panels at Riverland and Kingfisher were placed end to end, they would reach from Adelaide to Brisbane and back, and then all the way to Melbourne.
“We can deliver reliable, flexible power to meet SA’s summer peak.”
Mr Green said the team was already on site and that such large-scale renewables and battery technology would “play a central role in keeping our electricity system stable, reducing prices, and reducing emissions”.
“Right now, SA is at the forefront of an irrepressible global energy transition,” he said.
The company’s Kingfisher project will include a solar battery the size of a football field. That project alone promises to save the state from power outages, springing into action if the interconnector between Victoria and SA goes down.
After copping widespread criticism from voters and the Federal Government over the state’s power crisis — soaring electricity prices, supply that can’t always meet demand and a series of widespread blackouts — Mr Weatherill announced a $550 million “go-it-alone” plan a fortnight ago.
The six-point plan would:
BUILD a State Government-owned, fast start gas-fired power station that can come on when the market does not provide enough energy to keep the lights on. It is expected to cost about $360 million. No site has yet been selected. It would be 250MW, enough to deliver close to 10 per cent of SA’S peak demand.
SUPPORT construction of Australia’s biggest battery — potentially the Lyon Group project planned for Morgan, although this has not been confirmed — as part of a $150 million spend on a new renewable technology fund.
ENCOURAGE the construction of a new privately owned power station using a Government bulk-buy power contract.
INCENTIVISE the extraction of more gas for use in SA power stations, through a taxpayer-backed exploration fund.
GIVE the SA Energy Minister powers to override other regulators and force power stations to fire up in times of need.
CREATE an “energy security target”, which requires retailers to buy 36 per cent of their power from baseload sources in SA.
