One of Australia’s largest batteries comes to southwest
ONE of Australia’s largest grid-scale batteries is set to power up to 57,000 homes when it is built-in southwest Queensland and create dozens of jobs.
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ONE of Australia's largest grid-scale batteries is set to power up to 57,000 homes when it is built in southwest Queensland.
Energy giant AGL and Vena Energy Australia today signed a 15-year agreement to construct and operate the batteries in Wandoan.
Work on the battery energy storage system, which will have a capacity of 100 megawatts and store 150 megawatt hours of energy, is scheduled to take 18 months.
About 30 jobs will be created in southwest Queensland during the project's construction.
AGL CEO Brett Redman said the battery system would provide capacity when the Coopers Gap Wind Farm, located between Dalby and Kingaroy, was not generating power.
Vena Energy Australia will build, own and maintain the battery energy storage system while AGL will have full operational dispatch rights.
"The (battery energy storage system) is a major milestone in the continuing modernisation of Queensland's energy supply and improves the reliability of the power grid," Vena Energy CEO Nitin Apte said.
"The project will bolster a positive investment environment for future projects, as well as encourage broader adoption of renewable energy in Queensland and in Australia."
The battery system is the latest step in Vera Energy's $650 million Wandoan South Solar Project, which has a proposed capacity of 1000 megawatts.
Energy Minister Anthony Lynham the project showed renewable energy was "steaming ahead" in Queensland.
"All of this investment demonstrates industry's strong confidence in Queensland's growing clean energy industry," Dr Lynham said.
Construction on the batteries is set to begin in July.