Naturgy cuts ribbon at 10-MW/20-MWh BESS in Australia

• Spanish utility Naturgy Energy Group SA (BME: NTGY) on Wednesday inaugurated its 10-MW/20-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in the Australian Capital Territory.

The Queanbeyan lithium-ion BESS, located near to the city of Canberra, is the first such center for Naturgy anywhere in the globe. As is the case with of all Naturgy's projects in Australia, Queanbeyan was also know through Global Power Generation (GPG), the utility's joint venture with Kuwait Investment Authority.

Naturgy sees Australia as the vital country for its renewables agenda in the coming years. The firm states it has plans to spend close EUR 2 billion (USD 1.92 bn) in wind, solar PV as well as energy storage space to reach some 2,200 MW of installed capacity in the country by 2025.

The Queanbeyan inauguration comes not long after Naturgy got a ready-to-build project for a 125-MW solar PV ranch hybridised with a BESS of approximately 220 MWh in Cunderdin, Western Australia.