Four new giant batteries to be built in W.A. as world’s biggest isolated grid navigates transition from coal

The federal Labor government has announced that four new big batteries will be built in Western Australia, after declaring the winners of a battery storage designed to help the state transition from coal by the end of the decade.

The four battery projects – to be built at Boddington, Merredin, Muchea and Waroona – will provide a total of 654 megawatts of capacity and 2.6 gigawatt hours of storage after being declared the winners of the first tender in W.A. under the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme.

They are all due to be built by October 2027, and will confirm W.A’s main grid – the biggest isolated grid in the world – as a leader in battery storage, given it is already building half a dozen big batteries, including two of the biggest in the country at the coal centre of Collie.

W.A. hopes to close the last of its ageing coal fired power stations by the end of the decade, and while big batteries will play a critical role in soaking up solar in the middle of the day and providing firm capacity, particularly in the evening peaks, the state will also need more wind and solar to provide the bulk energy.

A tender targeting more wind and solar farms – and additional storage – in W.A. is due to be held later this year.

Federal energy minister Chris Bowen hailed the success of the W.A. tender, saying it had brought in significantly more capacity than the 500 MW and 2,000 MWh originally sought.

“The Albanese Government’s plan is working – renewable investment into our energy grid is at record levels,” Bowen said in a statement. 

“Now we’re seeing investors and developers outcompeting each other for the chance to deliver even more of the cheapest form of energy for Western Australia this decade.”

The biggest battery among the four winners is the 324 MW, 1,200 Boddington Giga Battery, which will be paired with a solar farm, and has been proposed by PGS Energy. It will be that company’s first big projects, although it is also seeking to build a battery at Three Springs and has interest in green ammonia proposals.

The other winners are Atmos Renewables’ Merredin big battery (100 MNW, 400 MWh), which will be its first big battery asset in the state.

Neoen, which is also building the country’s biggest battery at Collie, continues its tender success across the country with the Muchea battery (150 MW, 615 MWh), to be located north of Perth.

The other winner is Frontier Energy’s Waroona project (80 MW, 380 MWh), which will be a relief after the company was crestfallen after missing out on capacity credit allocations late last year. Its battery will be paired with a solar farm and is located south of Perth.

Bowen says interest in the tender was exceptionally strong, with initial bids for projects to deliver nearly seven times more capacity than tendered.

He said the projects will deliver $145 million in community benefits, $41.5 million in benefits to First Nations groups, and will result in more than $712 million spent on local content.

There will also be a $63.5 million boost to local employment including through funding for locally-based vocational education and training programs and commitments to employ local apprentices.

The CIS has now completed two pilot tenders for dispatchable capacity, and its first major tender for renewable generation that resulted in contracts being awarded to 6.4GW of new solar and wind projects, with an additional 1GW of new storage.

The tenders are the key policy plank to reach the target of 82 per cent renewables by 2030, although analysts say more capacity – and transmission – will be required to meet that target.

Some suggest that the country is more likely to reach around 65 per cent renewables by 2030 – given some projects such as Windlab’s Junction Rivers wind project will fall by the wayside due to the inability to gain a grid connection – but the federal government is still confident its target can be reached.

Western Australia has sourced about a third of its electricity needs from wind and solar in the past 12 months, with peaks of up to 84 per cent.

Bowen also took aim at the Coalition, which has threatened to slow or even halt the rollout of large scale wind and solar, and to tear up contracts should it be elected to government in the coming months.

“Peter Dutton wants to stop the renewable rollout, and squander Australia’s natural advantages the sun and wind resources that are the envy of the world,” Bowen said.

“Instead, Peter Dutton will cut critical services to fund a $600 billion nuclear scheme, and extend aging, unreliable coal fired power stations for decades with Australians paying the price with higher bills and reduced reliability.”

See also Renew Economy’s Big Battery Storage Map of Australia for more information.