FRV buys solar battery project, and reworks an adjacent project to suit

Saudi-owned Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) Australia has bought an-almost permitted solar project in Victoria that is right next to a long-planned project of its own. 

Acen Australia was developing the 140 megawatt (MW) Axedale solar project and 50 MW/100 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) 20km east of Bendigo.

The project is in the same rural block as FRV’s proposed 100MW Fosterville solar project and two-hour BESS, which is also still working its way through the permitting process.

FRV lodged a planning amendment in December to add a new power line and shift the Fosterville BESS to the opposite corner of the site, so it’s next to the new acquisition. 

Both projects have been in planning hell for years. 

Acen’s last move for Axedale was to secure a connection agreement with AusNet and the Australian Energy Market Operator in December. The project is “nearing the completion of permitting”, FRV says.

But it’s been a long time coming. Axedale won a permit in 2020 as a 160MW solar farm and a 60MWh BESS, when Acen Australia was still called AC Renewables, and a reprieve from the federal environmental approval process the same year.

Fosterville is similarly tied up. 

FRV won a planning permit for that project in 2022.

FRV is the local arm of Saudi energy company Jameel Energy, which sold 49 per cent to Canadian infrastructure fund OMERS in 2021. 

“The acquisition of Axedale underscores our commitment to developing innovative projects that blend renewable energy and storage, key elements for ensuring grid stability and advancing towards a cleaner, more efficient energy system,” said FRV CEO Carlo Frigerio in a statement.

FRV says it now has eight operating renewable projects with a combined capacity of nearly 1GW, and a number of developments underway. 

These include the 100MW/200MWh Terang and Gnarwarre BESS projects, as well as the Fostervillle solar-BESS, and plans to build a 400MW/1,600MWh big battery in the New South Wales New England region.