Banpu buys another Australian big battery project, as solar hybrid next door gets grid go-ahead

The Thai-absed energy giant Banpu has bought into another big battery project in Australia, adding a proposed stand alone battery in Victoria’s Lodden Valley to its half share of the giant Woreen battery in the Latrobe Valley.

Banpu Energy Australia has agreed to buy the 103 MW / 206 MWh Kerang grid-forming battery, located around 5km south of Kerang, from the development company Ace Power, and hopes to reach financial close on the project later this year.

“This is a fantastic outcome for the network in northern Victoria after 3 years of work from our team,” Ace Power founder and managing director Andy Scullion said in a statement.

“Using grid-forming inverter technology, Kerang BESS will provide stronger support to the Victorian electricity network by boosting system strength and resilience. This will also unlock additional capacity for other renewable technologies such as solar and wind to come online.”

It’s been a busy time for Banpu in Australia, following its purchase of a half share in EnergyAustralia’s 350 MW, 1400 MWh Woreen battery, which is designed to help fill the gap from the retirement of EA’s Yallourn brown coal generator in 2028. Banpu injected $110 million into the $700 million project.

Banpu has also been awarded an electricity retail licence by the Australian Energy Regulator, which will allow it to sell power to industrial customers.

Banpu Energy Australia was incorporated in 2019 and the company owns 167 MW of solar through the Manildra and Beryl solar farms (pictured above), and has plans for more solar, its first Australian wind projects and pumped hydro storage.

It says it plans to deliver “bespoke, renewable-focused energy solutions and services” for large customers using new energy technologies.

Meanwhile, Ace Power says it has received grid connection approval for the adjacent Kerang solar and battery hybrid project, and is also expected to reach financial close later this year.

The Kerang hybrid will comprise a 161 MW_DC solar farm and an AC-coupled 55 MW, 2-hour battery and is part of a rapidly growing trend towards hybrid facilities, given the falling cost of battery storage, to the prevalence of negative prices, and the challenges facing wind and transmission projects.

See: The solar farm that winds down at dusk, charges up for dinner and is still generating at midnight

The project will be built adjacent to the Kerang substation, and will utilise SMA inverters and the SMA Hycon controller.

“Securing 5.3.4A approval from AEMO is a significant accomplishment for the ACE Power team,” said Colm Ahern, the company’s development director. “We are proud to achieve one of the first approvals for a solar and BESS hybrid with grid-forming technology in the NEM.”

Ace Power regards the Kerang hybrid as a “flagship project” and says the combination of solar generation and battery storage will allow for greater flexibility in meeting demand and improving grid stability. It hopes to begin construction later this year.