“Small company doing big things:” Gigawatt-hour battery plan signs up Swiss giant, Energy Vault

Australian energy storage developer Enervest is pushing ahead with a proposal to build a big battery with one gigawatt-hour of energy storage capacity in north-western New South Wales, after signing up Swiss giant Energy Vault to its plans.

Energy Vault said on Tuesday it has signed an agreement with Enervest to deploy the up to 1,000MWh (“four hour minimum”) Stoney Creek battery energy storage system (BESS) in Narrabri, with the two companies working to finalise development and grid approvals to bring the project to full financial close.

The Stoney Creek BESS is one of 17 grid-scale battery projects Enervest has in its development pipeline, ranging in size from 40MW to 800MW and spread across four states, including NSW, South Australia, Victoria and Queensland.

Ross Warby, CEO of Enervest, says there are more proposals that are in the very early stages of development, including one in Western Australia, but that Stoney Creek is one of a batch of front-runners vying to be the Melbourne-based company’s first big battery to get built.

“We’re a small business doing big things,” Warby told Renew Economy on Tuesday, noting that the company’s many years in the rooftop PV sector has give it the “gumption and grit required for good development.”

Now, with a focus on battery storage at both the grid and commercial and industrial ends of the market, it is riding the wave of huge demand and ample investor interest.

“I know some people are saying the contrary, but our phone’s ringing off the hook, and has been for some time, both in general [investor] interest across the business, but certainly in the projects.

“Our intention is to be here long term … to hold assets and operate them over the long term, at least for the time being. Certainly, the genesis is in our distributed energy business [which is front of meter PV and BESS], and that’s pollinating up into our utility business at the moment as well,” he said.

We’ve got big ambitions. A highly energetic team… [that] is growing rapidly at the moment. We seem to be attracting good people, which is exciting – and things like this, of course, help.”

In a joint statement with Energy Vault, Enervest says the Stoney Creek battery marks a key milestone in its strategy to enhance grid reliability and support New South Wales’ growing renewable energy capacity.

“This large-scale battery will play a crucial role in integrating both traditional and renewable energy sources to the grid, enhancing the community’s energy resilience and contributing to the country’s clean energy targets, all-the-while sharing the project benefits with the local community,” the statement says.

Energy Vault will act as the turn-key partner for the project, offering engineering, procurement, construction, and long-term maintenance services. The BESS will use the company’s X-Vault integration platform, B-Vault product, and Vault-OS Energy Management System.

“Energy Vault’s leading integrated hardware and software solution coupled with their deep technology and system design expertise makes …[it] an ideal partner for the Stony Creek BESS,” said Warby.

“We value strong partnerships such as the one we have with Energy Vault and consider such collaborations as cornerstone to accelerated, quality project development.

“We look forward to consolidating further partnerships with other key stakeholders including the Narrabri local and indigenous community, and the successful delivery of the project.”

Enervest says the site for the Stoney Creek BESS was “carefully selected” following an assessment and evaluation of a range of factors to ensure it meets technical, environmental, and community needs effectively.

“The proposed development will occupy a relatively compact footprint on the northeastern outskirts of Narrabri township, set back from the site boundary, minimising visual impacts to surrounding areas and the local community,” the project site says.

The big battery will connect to the existing electricity grid via a short overhead or underground cable to Transgrid’s Narrabri substation, adjacent to the proposed development.