Neoen starts deal with 200MW Australian battery

• Construction of the Western Downs Battery has actually got underway in south west Queensland

Neoen has actually started construction of its 200MW Western Downs Battery in Australia.

The designer has given notices to proceed to battery storage specialists Tesla and to balance of plant specialist UGL, signalling the beginning of works at the site southern west Queensland.

Neoen will be the lasting proprietor and operator of the asset, which is its fourth big battery in Australia as well as is anticipated to begin running in the Australian summer of 2024/25.

The battery itself will include Tesla Megapack systems as well as will certainly take advantage of the existing framework of Neoen's Western Downs Green Power Hub which includes a 460MW solar farm presently nearing completion.

The project will certainly be located alongside the Western Downs substation, with Powerlink delivering the connection works, including a specialized high-voltage line which will connect the battery to the transmission network.

The Western Downs Battery is developed to help modernise as well as stabilise the Queensland grid, with the battery, efficient in performing a variety of vital roles including firming renewables, providing regularity services and transmission network support, Neoen said.

It will likewise be outfitted with grid-forming inverter modern technology permitting it to give necessary system stability solutions traditionally offered by synchronous generation such as coal as well as gas, it added.

Neoen Australia's managing director Louis de Sambucy claimed: "We are thrilled to be pressing 'go' on the Western Downs Battery, building upon our Western Downs solar farm which is nearing completion.

" We wish to give thanks to Tesla, UGL as well as Powerlink for their dedication and also commitment, as well as ARENA for their trust and support.

" We are extremely proud to now have a big battery in 4 of the five states of the National Electricity Market."

ARENA chief executive officer Darren Miller said: "Battery storage is a necessary modern technology in the transition to renewable energy, allowing us to smooth out variable generation as well as shop electricity for when it's needed.

" Next generation grid scale batteries such as Western Downs Battery will underpin this shift, with inverter innovation that can preserve grid stability without fossil fuels."

Neoen chairman as well as chief executive officer Xavier Barbaro said: "We take pride in this new storage asset, which will be one of the most effective battery in Queensland, a state where the pace of the power shift is speeding up.

" Neoen currently holds a global storage space portfolio of 842MW/ 1341MWh.

" It additionally takes our overall capacity past 6GW in operation or under construction all over the world, giving us confidence in our ability to reach 10GW by 2025."