A giant battery proposed next to South Australia’s first and still largest solar farm has become the first to gain an environmental green tick from the state government under a new act designed to streamline approvals as it races towards its 100 per cent net renewables target.
The Emeroo battery is a 225 megawatt (MW), 900 megawatt hour (MWh) facility proposed to be built next to the 220 MW Bungala solar facility around 15 kms north of Port Augusta, once the home of the state’s now shuttered coal fired power stations and now the centre of a major renewable hub.
The $400 million battery project is owned by Potentia Energy, a newly formed venture between Italy’s Enel Green Power and Japanese energy giant Inpex, and is one of a number of battery projects the company has proposed for the state.
It announced on Thursday that the Statement of Environmental Objectives (SEO) for the Emeroo battery has been officially approved under the Hydrogen and Renewable Energy (HRE) Act.
This makes it the first BESS facility in South Australia to reach this stage of approvals under the legislation, which was flagged in late 2023 and came into force in July last year.
It was initially designed to help smooth the way for an anticipated wave of new wind and solar projects expected to support the nascent green hydrogen industry, although that is now on the back burner.
But South Australia, which sources a world-leading 75 per cent of its annual electricity needs from wind and solar, is still counting on a number of new projects to reach its 100 per cent net renewables target, and to meet forecasts from increased demand from electrification and new industries and data centres.
“South Australia has been a leader in renewable energy, in particular through our pioneering foray into grid-scale battery storage,” state energy minister Tom Koutsantonis said in a statement.
“We couldn’t have got to where we are – on track to 100% net renewable energy generation by 2027 – without good planning and world-leading legislation and policy.
“The Hydrogen and Renewable Energy Act is another example of our early leadership. The Act was developed to ensure that we can accommodate our growing appeal as a place to invest in renewable energy with a coordinated, orderly and equitable approach to renewable energy infrastructure.”
Potentia Energy CEO Werther Esposito says the Emeroo battery is one of at least three that Potentia is looking to build in the state, which hosted the first large scale battery at Hornsdale in 2017 and now has five in operation, another eight under construction and yet more in development.
See Renew Economy’s Big Battery Storage Map of Australia
Esposito says he expects construction of Emeroo to start in 2026, and for the battery to be completed in 2027. Other batteries are being developed by Potentia at Blanche (125 MW, 500 MWh) near Mt Gambier, and Harrogate (270 MW/1080 MWh) near Tungkillo.
“South Australia leads the country in many aspects of renewable energy and this is clearly a government committed to attracting and supercharging investment for the people of this state,” he said in a statement.
“This new legislation is just one aspect of South Australia’s forward thinking, which is why other states are looking to it as a model for pioneering work in the transition to cleaner energy.”
