Fortescue to install Gamesa Electric’s inverters at 250 MWh Australian battery project

Spanish manufacturer Gamesa Electric has signed an agreement with Australian technology, energy, and metals group Fortescue for the supply of 12 Gamesa Electric Proteus PCS-E battery inverter units, which will be installed at a project in Western Australia. The 50 MW/250 MWh North Star Junction BESS project will be located 145 km south of Port Hedland, in the Pilbara region.

Gamesa’s Electric Proteus PCS-E is the central battery inverter in the Proteus inverter family which won a 2022 Intersolar award for Best Photovoltaic Product of the Year and the pv magazine Best Inverter of the Year award, also in 2022. The manufacturer said the product “combines market-leading efficiency, high power density, and great reliability, all with a minimum [levelized] cost of energy (LCOE).

Proteus PCS-E inverters will be supplied in “plug-and-play” configuration at six power-converter-for-storage stations which will include transformers and medium voltage equipment.

Alan Brown, Gamesa Electric’s director of solar and storage sales in Australia, said the project will be equipped with Gamesa Electric’s latest grid forming technology, including blackstart capability and the Gamesa Electric Orchestra plant controller.

Enrique de la Cruz, global sales director for solar and storage at Gamesa Electric, said, “Australia is one of the leading markets for battery storage deployment with capacity forecast to increase sevenfold by 2030, making it a very attractive market. This flagship BESS project in Australia, with a customer like Fortescue, is an important milestone for us and demonstrates the market’s confidence in our product.”

From pv magazine España.