Maoneng plans to trump Hornsdale with big two hour battery near Adelaide

Solar and battery storage developer Maoneng has unveiled plans for a two hour battery near Adelaide that will trump the Hornsdale Power Reserve as the biggest battery storage installation in the state.

The Gould Creek battery will be located around 22kms north of Adelaide, and be sized at 225MW and 450MWh, making it far bigger than the Hornsdale battery which was recently expanded to 150MW and 194MWh.

It comes as transmission companies Transgrid and ElectraNet prepare to begin construction of a new link from South Australia to NSW, a move which will unlock yet more wind and solar projects and support the state’s push to 100 per cent renewables before 2030. It is at around 60 per cent now.

The Gould Creek battery is bigger than any big battery currently operating in Australia, but it won’t rank as the biggest in the country because it will be pipped by the 300MW/450MWh Victoria big battery being built by Hornsdale owner Neoen and which will begin production later this year.

And it may also not likely be the biggest in South Australia, given that AGL has announced that it will fast-track the construction of its Torrens Island battery, which will be sized at up to 250MW and 1,000MWh, after the decision to close one of the gas generators at the site.

Neoen has proposed the biggest battery in South Australia, and the biggest in the country’s main grid, with a huge 900MW/1800MWh facility at its massive Goyder South wind, solar and storage precinct.

Maoneng has a growing portfolio of battery storage projects in the pipeline, although it has yet to start construction. It has signed a deal with AGL to deliver 200MW and 400MWh of battery storage in NSW, including a 50MW/100MWh battery at the Sunraysia solar farm where it is a minority shareholder.

The number of announced and proposed battery storage projects is growing across the country, and also in size and ambition.

While many of the first big battery installations had relatively short storage times because they were focused on grid services such as frequency control and synthetic inertia, the new wave of batteries is more focused on spot arbitrage, by “time shifting” renewables, particularly solar, and meeting evening peaks.

Maoneng’s Gould Creek battery won’t be co-located with a wind or solar farm, but the site has been chosen because it is next to the substation for the Para high voltage line. It is seeking approval from the state government for the project and Crown sponsorship status.

You can find more information on RenewEconomy’s new battery storage map: Big Battery Storage Map of Australia