A new big battery project to be co-located at a run of river hydropower station in southern New South Wales has been given the green light by planning authorities,
The battery will be co-located with the Hume hydro power station, located around 20km outside of Albury, with project developers Meridian Energy planning to take advantage of the battery by charging during periods of low demand and low energy prices, while having an additional supply of power available during peak periods.
Meridian Energy says that the new battery will be able to draw power directly from the existing hydropower station, making the project the first of its kind in Australia.
“Once completed the battery paired with an existing hydro generator will be the first pairing of its kind in Australia and will mean the Hume Power Station can remain online to supply clean, reliable and importantly dispatchable power to meet Australia’s future energy needs,” Meridian energy CEO Jason Stein said.
“The proposed battery will supply clean, reliable and affordable energy to our customers as well as create jobs for the community. Meridian Energy Australia will continue to support projects that help drive innovation and trial new technologies in the energy industry to help fuel the future of Australia’s energy market and the economy.”
NSW energy minister Matt Kean welcomed the new $32 million battery project, saying it was an example of the kind of innovation that was occurring within the state through an embrace of clean energy technologies.
“We know NSW has some of the best hydro opportunities anywhere in the world and this sort of battery innovation adds to the renewable energy mix right across the State,” Kean said.
“As renewable energy becomes a greater part of our energy mix, projects like this will help to support the continued growth of our economy by delivering a modern, cheap and reliable energy grid for the people of NSW.”
NSW planning minister Rob Stokes said the 20MW/40MWh project would help the state meet energy demand during peak periods while using the existing network connection infrastructure built for the Hume hydropower station.
“The battery will be able to dispatch energy to the grid during peak demand, boosting grid stability and energy security in what is the first co-located battery and hydro project in Australia,” Stokes said.
“Not only does it supply clean and reliable energy, it provides jobs and investment for the local area.”
The project had previously been shortlisted under the NSW government’s Emerging Energy Program and is expected to become one of Australia’s first projects to pair battery storage with an existing hydropower station.
The planning approvals follow the announcement of similar plans by Neoen and Origin Energy, which are each looking to co-locate massive new big battery projects at the site of former and current coal fired generators.
Earlier this month, Neoen unveiled plans to build a 500MW big battery at the site of the former Wallerawang power station. This was quickly followed by Origin Energy announcing its own plans to build an 800MW battery, co-located with the Eraring power station. In each case, the batteries would utilise the existing network connection and substation infrastructure previously constructed for the coal plants, significantly reducing the cost and complexity of the new storage projects.
On Friday, CEP Energy launched its own plans to build a 1,200MW big battery system in Kurri Kurri, set to become one of the world’s largest battery storage projects and located in the town earmarked by the Morrison government for a new gas-fired generator.
