On-site works are officially underway at Neoen Australia’s first six-hour battery, the Muchea project being built around 50 km north of Perth in Western Australia, as the ground-breaking project prepares for delivery of hundreds of Tesla Megapacks.
The 164 megawatt (MW), 905 megawatt-hour Muchea Battery will be made up of 252 of Tesla’s Megapack 2XL units and will connect into the existing Muchea substation in WA’s main grid, the South-West Interconnected System (SWIS).
Neoen issued notices to proceed to Tesla and the project’s EPC contractor UGL in October last year, setting in motion its third storage asset in WA and its second in that state to be backed by a contract under the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS).
In an update posted to LinkedIn late last week, UGL – a subsidiary of the CIMIC Group – said construction had moved from concept to reality, with bulk civil works now in progress, headed up by Tesla Energy as the EPC lead.
“Boots are on the ground, machinery is in motion, and site work is officially underway for Neoen’s first six-hour long-duration battery powered by Tesla Megapacks, as part of Tesla’s EPC-led project,” a linked statement from UGL said.
“Over the coming months, the team will complete major civil activities and prepare for the arrival of Tesla Megapacks and associated infrastructure, positioning the project for a smooth installation and commissioning phase.”
Neoen says the Muchea Battery is expected to create 70 new jobs during construction and will contribute more than $A2 million in benefit-sharing for Whadjuk First Nations peoples and the local community within the Shire of Chittering.
The six hour battery – which is being designed to add grid stability and to feed power into the market in the evening peaks – marks significant progress in battery technology compared to the 1.3 hours of storage that featured in Neoen’s first big battery at Hornsdale in South Australia in 2017, which was also built using Tesla hardware.
As Renew Economy has reported, most of Neoen’s recent battery projects, including the Western Downs, Capital and Blyth projects, have been sized at around two hours of storage, but it recently completed its first four-hour battery at Collie, also in Western Australia.
“The pace at which we have grown and delivered storage in Western Australia is a reflection of the Neoen team’s disciplined focus, the strength of our relationships with Tesla, UGL, Western Power and AEMO, and the trust that we have nurtured with our host landowners and the local community,” Neoen Australia chief Jean-Christophe Cheylus said in October last year.
“Muchea is an important project for the state, our client and our partners,” said UGL project manager, last week. “This project shows what can be achieved through planning, teamwork and a shared commitment to excellence.”
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