Korean company secures grid connection approval for its first big battery in Australia

A 100 megawatt (MW), two hour battery energy storage system (BESS) to be built in southeast Queensland has this week received grid connection approval from transmission system operator Powerlink Queensland.

The new project is being built by Hanwha Energy Australia, a subsidiary of South Korean energy solutions company Hanwha Energy, which set up shop in Australia in 2018.

Set to be built approximately 150 kilometres west of Brisbane in Tangkam, the 100 MW/200-megawatt-hour (MWh) storage system will connect to the Queensland grid via an existing Powerlink substation.

Hanwha now expects to be able to advance the project’s development toward construction and eventual integration with Queensland’s transmission network.

The Tangkam BESS will store surplus solar energy during the day and release it back into the grid during peak evening demand, providing reliable energy support for an estimated 15,000 households.

According to Nectr, the retail arm of Hanwha Energy Australia, the Tangkam BESS has been engineered to provide critical grid services such as system inertia that has traditionally been supplied by coal and gas assets.

The BESS will therefore help to strengthen the resilience of Queensland’s grid, which will be clinging on to unreliable coal power stations for longer following last week’s decision by the Queensland government to abandon its renewable energy targets.

“Battery energy storage systems such as the Tangkam BESS project are the way forward for delivering a cleaner, greener and more reliable energy future for Australians,” said Alberto Costa, general manager at Hanwha Energy Australia. 

“By storing energy and making electricity available when communities need it most, this BESS will help stabilise the grid, support the growth of renewable energy, and ensure Queenslanders benefit from a more sustainable and resilient power system.”

Hanwha Energy Australia doesn’t make a lot of noise about its role in Australia’s energy transition. Earlier this year, the company was confirmed as the battery supplier for the recently EPBC-approved Richmond Valley Solar & BESS Project under development by Ark Energy in New South Wales.

Nectr, also backed by the Hanwha Group, currently delivers energy solutions to over 40,000 homes and businesses via long-term purchase agreements signed with Australian wind and solar farms.

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