Pacific Green secures approvals for Limestone Coast Energy Park

Plans to build one of the country’s largest grid-scale batteries in South Australia have secured approvals, with construction expected to begin this year.

Artist’s impression of Limestone Coast Energy Park. Picture: Supplied by Pacific Green

Development of one of the country’s largest grid-scale batteries is expected to begin later this year following state government approvals for the project in South Australia’s southeast.

British battery storage developer Pacific Green has secured planning approvals for its Limestone Coast Energy Park, which would become the state’s largest battery site with 1.5GWh of storage capacity.

That equates to almost 60 per cent of South Australia’s residential solar output for up to a four-hour period.

Adjacent to the southeast substation near Mount Gambier, and feeding into the Heywood Interconnector between South Australia and Victoria, the facility would charge and discharge excess renewable energy generated from nearby wind and solar farms to and from Victoria.

Pacific Green Australia managing director Joel Alexander said the 550MW/1.5GWh energy park would be built in two phases over the next three years, with the first expected to become operational in the second half of 2026.

He said the project would strengthen grid stability in the region.

A visualisation of the planned Limestone Coast Energy Park, which at its peak will be able to store almost 60% of SA residential solar output for up to 4 hours. Picture: Supplied by Pacific Green

“This is a major milestone for the Limestone Coast Energy Park assets, and we are pleased that the South Australian government has recognised the rigorous assessment and community consultation work we have undertaken to date,” Mr Alexander said.

“We look forward to re-engaging with the local community to maximise the tangible economic benefits of the Limestone Coast Energy Park and to ensure funding and local contracting opportunities are open to all relevant groups. This is a positive and exciting start to an exceptional pipeline of Australian projects to come.”

Pacific Green, which runs its Australian office out of Melbourne, has ambitions to become one of the largest battery park developers in the Southern Hemisphere, underpinned by a 8.5GWh pipeline in Australia.

That includes its most advanced project in SA, and another proposal to build a 1GW/2.5GWh battery park across the border in Portland, Victoria.

The approvals announcement comes amid a flurry of grid-scale battery proposals across Australia designed to stabilise an electricity network increasingly reliant on renewables.

On Monday Akaysha Energy, owned by the world’s largest asset manager, BlackRock, announced it had raised $650m to begin construction of its 1.66GWh Orana battery in Wellington, central west NSW.

Meanwhile, Sun Cable, the renewable energy company backed by billionaire Mike Cannon-Brookes, confirmed on Tuesday it had secured in-principle environmental approval from the Northern Territory government for its flagship Australia-Asia Power Link solar, battery and undersea power cable project.

A final investment decision on that project is expected in 2027.

SA Energy Minister Tom Koutsantonis said it was encouraging to see more private sector investment in energy storage.

“An increase in storage will provide greater capacity at peak times, extending the availability of electricity generated by cheap renewables,” he said.