Australian wrap: 1 GWh battery build begins, remote power systems add batteries

Energy generator and retailer Alinta Energy has officially launched construction on the 250 MW /1 GWh first stage of its Reeves Plains battery energy storage system project in the Australian state of South Australia.

Alinta, acquired late last year by Singaporean energy company Sembcorp Industries, said works are now well underway on the project, being built about 50 kilometers north of state capital Adelaide, with the battery expected to commence operations by 2028.

Perth-based construction company GenusPlus Group is serving as principal contractor for the project that will include 194 battery modules supplied by China-based battery manufacturer CATL and 89 inverters delivered by Spanish manufacturer Power Electronics. Victoria-headquartered Wilson Transformer Company has been engaged to supply the transformers for the project.

The 250 MW stage one battery energy storage system, backed by an underwriting agreement with the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme, forms part of Alinta’s planned Reeves Plains Energy Hub. The hub is to also include a second 250 MW / 1 GWh battery.

Ken Woolley, Executive Director of Merchant Energy at Alinta, said the Reeves Plains battery is a nationally significant piece of infrastructure that will play a key role in supporting South Australia’s energy transition.

“South Australia already runs one of the highest penetrations of renewable energy in the world, and that makes assets like this even more important,” he said.

“Having an energy asset here again is something we’re genuinely excited about, not only for the role it will play in supporting the power system, but for how it allows us to better serve our electricity customers in South Australia.”

Reeves Plains is Alinta’s third battery project, following the Newman battery in Western Australia’s Pilbara region, and the Wagerup battery in that state’s southwest.

Power systems add batteries in remote Australia

Australia is divided into states and territories, with the Northern Territory covering a vast swathe of Australia, but with a small population and relative geographical isolation.

Operated as part of the Federal government, the utility Territory Generation has awarded remote and off-grid power specialist Pacific Energy a contract to install a combined 33.5 MW / 81 MWh of battery energy storage capacity across the Alice Springs and Darwin-Katherine power grids.

Government ministers said the $82.1 million (USD 58.7 million) investment in battery storage will strengthen energy security, stabilize the grid, help integrate more solar.

The project, part of Territory Generation’s battery energy storage system (BESS) program, will see a 12 MW, four-hour battery valued at $46.5 million installed at the Owen Springs Power Station near Alice Springs to support the town’s remote, isolated power system.

The second battery, a 21.5 MW, one-hour capacity system worth $35.6 million, will be deployed at the Katherine Power Station to support the Darwin-Katherine interconnected power system near the township of Katherine.

Under the agreement, Pacific will design, manufacture, supply, install and integrate both batteries and will also provide a 10-year service support agreement. The company said Chinese storage manufacturer Narada Power will supply the battery units while Swedish-Swiss multinational ABB will provide the inverter systems.

Pacific, owned by Queensland-based investor QIC, said civil works will commence on the Owen Springs battery in the coming months with design works for the Katherine battery set to get underway soon.

The batteries are planned to come online progressively from 2028.

The Owen Springs and Katherine batteries form the next stage of Territory Generation’s BESS program that is aimed at adding more battery energy storage to the utility’s portfolio.

Territory Generation CEO Gerhard Laubscher said the initiative, that has already delivered the 35 MW / 35 MWh Darwin–Katherine BESS 1, is designed to enhance the Northern Territory’s energy infrastructure.

Via pv magazine Australia: Alinta kicks off 1,000 MWh battery build in South Australia, Territory plans big batteries for Katherine and Alice Springs