By Michelle Slater
The former Hazelwood Power Station site will host Australia’s largest privately-funded and grid-connected battery.
The Hazelwood Battery Energy Storage System will provide 150 megawatt hours with the capacity to store the equivalent of an hour of energy from 30,000 home rooftop solar systems.
ENGIE has announced construction is underway, scheduled to be operational by November next year in time for peak summer demand, with network connection agreements already in place.
The project is being funded by ENGIE and Green Investment Group and will have a 20-year life span, to be built and operated by renewables company Fluence.
The storage system will connect to existing network infrastructure to support the transition to renewables at the former coal-fired power station.
The site has access to 1600 MW of dormant transmission capacity.
The battery will allow the flexibility to quickly scale up storage capacity to respond to network and market demand, including additional capacity for future contracts.
ENGIE Australia New Zealand chief executive officer Augustin Honorat said the company’s commitment to Hazelwood and the Latrobe Valley began as a station operator.
“Then, as an investor in a multi-million-dollar rehabilitation project, and now as the builder and owner of a new energy asset that helps with the decarbonisation of the energy system,” Mr Honorat said.
The news was welcomed by Federal Member for Gippsland Darren Chester who stated the project would put the region at the “forefront” of renewable energy innovation.
Mr Chester said it would support long-term transition to more renewables and ensure local jobs and use the skills set of local workers.
“Australians want access to reliable and affordable energy, and they also expect our country to do its share of the work required to reduce global emissions,” Mr Chester said.
“Projects like this ensure that as we transition we have the resources and infrastructure in place to meet the demands and high consumption peaks throughout the year.”
Voices of the Valley convenor Wendy Farmer also backed the project, after the group had been advocating for batteries and renewables to be built in the Valley.
Ms Farmer said now was the time to unveil other local renewables project such as solar and wind to complement the battery system.
“The future has been clear for a long time about coal, and companies have already said they will close coal plants early,” Ms Farmer said.
“We need a just transition and this announcement looks like the Valley is not being left behind.”
