Neoen’s newest big battery gets storage boost thanks to higher energy density

A new big battery project proposed by leading renewable energy and storage developer Neoen is about to begin construction after the company secured approval for an increase in capacity, thanks to improved energy density in battery technology.

Neoen had originally proposed a 100 MW, 200 MWh battery to be built next to the 440 MWp (350 MWac) Culcairn solar farm, which has just been energised and is now going through its commissioning process.

The company won approval last last year for a major increase in the project’s battery plans – to 350 MW and up to 800 MWh – to align the battery specifications to that of the solar farm, and to “increase the ability of the (Culcairn) project to contribute to grid stability, reliability and affordable energy supply.”

Now it has emerged that the company also won approval in late April to expand that storage capacity even further – to 904 MWh – this time thanks to the higher energy density of the battery units. The increase will not require an increase in the number of battery containers.

Neoen, which is now owned by global asset management giant Brookfield, says it is preparing to start the procurement process to select a battery supplier, who will also act as an EPC contractor for the project.

Neoen has mostly chosen Tesla for its battery projects (including Hornsdale, Bulgana, Victoria Big Battery, Western Downs and Collie), although it has also used Doosan and NHOA Energy for the of the Capital and Blyth batteries respectively.

“It is estimated that start of construction of the BESS may be in early 2026,” the company said in a statement published late last week. “Construction of the BESS will involve significantly less construction activity than for the solar farm and it will be co-located by the substation. The peak workforce is estimated at around 160 workers.”

The solar farm – the second biggest after Western Downs to be built by Neoen in Australia – continues to work its way through the commissioning process.

Neoen says all 98,000 piles have been installed in the ground, as has the PV tracking structure, all the inverter stations and 99 per cent of the PV panels. The site has been used to test and assess robotic technologies for the installation of PV panels, part of the federal government’s hopes to slash the installation cost of large scale solar by 2030.

See also Renew Economy’s Big Battery Storage Map of Australia.