Key milestone for WA’s biggest battery, with all storage units installed

Western Australia’s biggest battery, the 200MW four-hour (800MWh) Kwinana project being developed by Synergy at the site of its former gas power plant, has reached a major milestone, with all of its containerised batteries in place.

The WA government announced the milestone for Kwinana Battery Stage Two on Thursday, describing it as a key part of of the state’s energy transition. It says the big battery should completed and ready for operation in late 2024.

“My government is doing what’s right by WA, investing in our state’s future to deliver a strong economy for generations to come,” said WA premier Roger Cook.

“These large-scale batteries allow us to pump more renewable energy into the grid while keeping our system stable – and it’s great to see this transition happened right in the heart of the Kwinana industrial strip.”

Construction of Kwinana stage two started in July last year, just weeks after the project gained planning approval.

The first stage of the Kwinana battery – sized at 100MW with two hours storage (200MWh) – began operations in May 2023, the first such installation on the state’s main grid, the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).

The second stage of the battery, Kwinana 2, is four times the size – at 200MW and four hours storage (800MWh). But it will be trumped by an even bigger installation at Collie, sized at 500MW and four storage storage (2,000MWh).

WA energy minister Reece Whitby said on Thursday that Synergy is gearing up to begin works on the Collie battery early this year.

“Renewables uptake is surging in WA with the SWIS at times powered by more than 80 per cent renewables,” Whitby said on Thursday.

“Through a major expansion of battery storage in WA, the Cook government is ensuring the security and reliability of the State’s energy system.”

Once complete, the Kwinana stage 2 battery system will be capable of powering 370,000 average homes in
WA for around four hours. The government says its construction has created more than 160 jobs.

The newly installed battery systems at Kwinana Battery Stage Two were supplied by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited (CATL). Power Electronics has been contracted to provide 72 inverters.