Big battery starts sending power to the grid near Victoria’s “rhombus of regret”

The Koorangie big battery has started exporting energy to the grid in north-west Victoria, with the project’s developer Edify Energy marking the “exciting milestone” for the 185 megwatt (MW), 370 megawatt-hour (MWh) project on Monday.

“Today marks an exciting milestone for Koorangie Energy Storage System, successfully exporting to the grid for the first time, as we commence hold point testing,” Edify said on LinkedIn.

“A fitting Valentines gift to the energy transition as we move closer to a sustainable and reliable energy future for Australia,” adding, “(Beats roses any day of the week).”

The new Victorian battery has been installed next to Edify Energy’s 50 MW Gannawarra solar farm and its existing 25MW / 50MWh battery in Victoria’s proposed Murray River renewable energy zone (REZ).

The project is being developed by Edify but is now owned by the Italian energy infrastructure investor Sostoneo – its first big Australian investment – and will feature new grid forming inverter technology and a landmark 20-year contract to provide that service to the Australian Energy Market Operator.

Edify says that at full operation, the battery will be capable of powering 350,000 homes for two hours, providing grid stability and paving the way for up to 300 MW more renewable energy capacity in the region.

This is a particularly important service for a part of the state’s grid that was once known as Victoria’s “rhombus of regret”, an area chock full of wind and solar projects all served by a particularly weak part of the grid.

As Renew Economy has reported, the Koorangie battery was originally going to be half the size, but a $119 million boost from Victoria’s Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) Fund doubled in size to today’s 185 MW / 370 MWh.