Small but nimble solar and battery projects continue roll out in South Australia

South Australia premier Peter Malinauskas has officially opened the Woods Point solar and battery storage farm, a 5MW combined solar and battery project near Murray Bridge.

The project, the combined brainchild of Sustainable Energy Infrastructure and Yates Electrical Services Group (YES Group), is one of three identical solar and storage plants being commissioned by the two companies this month in the state.

The other two farms, at Port Wakefield, north of Adelaide, and Padthaway near the Victorian border, are part of the companies’ expanding portfolio of mid-scale solar and storage assets that they hope will harness the state’s abundant sunlight.

All up, the partnership has an approved portfolio of 55MW across 11 assets in South Australia and New South Wales, with five in operation, three under construction, and three in detailed design and procurement. YES Group has also identified another 100MW of projects to deliver over the coming years.

The new project opened on Monday comprises 9,000 bi-facial Risen solar panels on a NexTracker Framing System, which follows the sun to maximise renewable generation.

In a first for the SA Power Networks (SAPN) distribution network, the farm is coupled with a 2.5MWh, two hour battery storage system.

According to SEI and YES Group, this is also the first time a Tesla Megapack will be connected directly to a solar farm in the National Electricity Market (NEM). The plant alone will store 1,000MWh of energy to release into the grid when needed, either to meet high demand periods or provide ancillary services to the grid.

Malinauskas says the project will help South Australia take the next step in its energy transition.

“South Australia already leads the country, and the world in the development of solar and wind renewable energy,” Malinauskas said.

“However, to complete the transition, we need more storage solutions, like batteries and hydrogen.

“The use of world leading technology by SEI and YES Group in South Australia is great to see. This project showcases their deliberate business model of building regional distributed energy assets.”

Malinauskas has cut an enthusiastic, if at times controversial, figure in renewable energy. The Labor premier has ramped up plans for hydrogen production and renewables projects around the state and is enthusiastic about decarbonisation.

On the other hand, he has suggested that gas has a key role to play in the energy transition in his home state and is, unusually for Australia, a supporter of nuclear energy – for which he received a firm smackdown from Prime Minister Albanese.

YES Group managing director Mark Yates says the new solar and battery farm will optimise PV generation, storing the produced energy for times of need as well as helping to stabilise the grid in the transitional years to come.

Justin Parker, national manager of SEI, says the delivery of the projects has come about through teamwork.

“The delivery of these projects is testament to all involved and clearly demonstrates how great things can be achieved when working together,” said Parker.

“To be at the forefront with combined PV and BESS facilities just makes it even more exciting.”

SEI is managed by a global asset investment manager Patrizia SE on behalf of two Australian superannuation fund investors.

“These small projects enable us to get assets into the market faster and it provides us with a diversified and scalable platform,” said Patrizia’s head of infrastructure Australia and Asia, Saji Anantakrishnan.