Govt puts battery projects on the fast track
Six battery projects will get the fast-track treatment in a bid to more than double SA’s storage capacity.
Six tenders for battery energy storage projects have been awarded by the state government to private companies in an effort to rapidly scale up the state’s storage capacity.
Announced today by Energy and Mining Minister Tom Koutsantonis, the new projects would more than double South Australia’s large-scale battery storage capacity.
The state’s battery storage capacity would double from 1.1 GW to 2.5 GW, which is able to power more than 300,000 average households for up to eight hours.
Akaysha Energy, ZEBRE, Neoen Australia, AMPYR Australia and Iberdrola Australia were the successful tenderers for the state government’s Firm Energy Reliability Mechanism, together spending an estimated $2.2 billion on the new projects.
Battery storage would grow to more than double that in Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland once completed, Koutsantonis claimed.
The projects would ensure the state always had eight hours of continuous dispatchable energy available for unexpected circumstances.
Koutsantonis hoped the new capacity would ensure the state would avoid extreme price spikes due to low generation and little available energy capacity, as experienced in January of this year during heatwaves.
“Too often we see wholesale prices falling but price spikes for consumers due to isolated events where there is a lack of firming capacity,” Koutsantonis said.
“Now we are helping fast-track projects that will more than double the state’s large-scale battery storage capacity and support an estimated $2.2 billion of local investment in new storage projects.
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“All around the world, legacy generators are leaving the system, and that’s a reality we have been preparing for.”
Last year, AGL partnered with the state government on the $25.7 million emPowering SA project to deliver 16 new 700 kW / 1828 kWh community batteries, which it said would provide cheaper electricity for social housing tenants and people experiencing financial hardship.
While in 2023, a big battery system the size of Adelaide Oval was switched on at the Torrens Island power station. It is able to power 75,000 homes for one hour, with the option to extend the duration to four hours with a future expansion.
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