UK developer seeks approval for 2.5 GWh Australian battery

British-owned energy company Pacific Green is seeking approvals under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act for its second grid-scale battery energy storage project in Australia.

The United Kingdom-headquartered company plans to build a 1 GW / 2.5 GWh battery energy storage system near Portland in southwest Victoria.

The proposed Portland Energy Park, being developed on a 120-hectare site at Portland, about five hours west of Melbourne, is to include four 250 MW battery energy parks, a 500 / 33 kV collector, and a 500 kV terminal station and grid connection to the existing 500 kV transmission line.

Pacific said the project is strategically positioned within the Portland industrial zone which is home to aluminium smelter Alcoa, Victoria’s biggest energy consumer.

The developer has previously said the battery project has no connection to the smelter, but it would help add resilience to the local power grid.

“The site is ideal for an energy park site as it has direct access to existing electrical transmission infrastructure,” the developer said.

“Once operational, the 2.5 GWh Portland Energy Park will provide critical support for existing and proposed renewable energy projects within Victoria’s Southwest Renewable Energy Zone. More broadly, it will strengthen energy supply and price stability for households across Victoria and support the state’s net-zero transition.”

The Portland project is the developer’s second battery energy storage project in Australia.

Pacific has already landed approvals to build a 500 MW / 1.5 GWh battery energy storage system north of Mount Gambier in South Australia.

The proposed Limestone Coast Energy Park is one of six large-scale battery projects in South Australia and Victoria identified earlier this month to receive funding from the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme.

Pacific said the Limestone Coast project will be constructed in two phases with the first phase expected to be operational in the second half of 2026.

The UK company said the two battery projects form part of its broader ambition to deploy more than 12 GWh of battery energy storage capacity globally with Australian to remain a key focus for significant further pipeline expansion.