The first big battery to be built at the site of a former coal generator – the Hazelwood big battery in Victoria – has been officially commissioned.It's being hailed as an “historic” moment for the green energy transition in Australia.
The 150MW, one hour battery is located at the site of what was once the country’s dirtiest coal generator, a 1600MW giant that shut down in early 2017.
Hazelwood is the first big battery to be built on the site of a former or existing coal generator, but it won't be the last.Big batteries are being built at former coal sites in QLD, NSW, VIC and WA.
Coal fired generators are getting old and less reliable, but they leave infrastructure – switchyards, substations and power lines – that make it easier and cheaper for big batteries to connect to the grid.
While batteries lack the raw capacity of coal plants, they have the flexibility to respond to variations in wind and solar, and can charge at times of low or even negative prices, and discharge when demand is high.
Victoria has a 95 per cent renewable energy target by 2035.This will require significant amounts of new wind, solar and storage to replace three big coal generators in the Latrobe Valley that will close.