Risen reveals big battery plans for regional NSW

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The Australian arm of Risen Energy is progressing plans to develop a four-hour lithium-ion battery energy storage system at Coleambally in the Riverina region of New South Wales (NSW), declaring the project will help stabilise and balance the grid as Australia transitions from coal-fired power to renewables.

The 100 MW/400 MWh Coleambally battery energy storage system, which is currently open for community feedback after Risen submitted a State Significant Development application for the project, is to be located adjacent to French renewable energy giant Neoen’s operational 150 MW Coleambally Solar Farm and would connect to NSW network operator TransGrid’s Coleambally Substation.

Risen said the big battery, valued at more than $30 million, would support renewable energy generation and increase the reliability of the grid as the nation transitions from its historical reliance on large-scale coal-fired generation.

“The proposal would benefit the electricity grid by balancing the network through the addition of energy storage,” the company said. “This stored energy would be utilised during periods of low renewable output into the energy grid.”

Risen said this is especially important during NSW’s transition from centralised to decentralised power generation with four of the five coal-fired power stations in the state expected to close within 15 years, starting with the Liddell Power Station which is to be shut down in less than three months.

The battery would be sited next to the Coleambally Solar Farm which came online in 2018.

Image: Bouygues

The proposed Coleambally battery storage facility would provide storage capacity to the Coleambally Solar Farm – which has the ability to deliver close to 400 GWh of renewable electricity to the grid annually – increasing “the stability and reliability of the renewable energy supply in the area.”

“By co-locating the project adjacent to the existing solar farm and substation, it builds on and consolidates the area as a hub of renewable energy activity,” Risen said.

The project is to be built on an approximately 5-hectare site about 10 kilometres north-east of Coleambally and would consist of up to 40 blocks of battery systems, a transformer and about 1km of 132 kV transmission line routing to the Coleambally Substation.

It is anticipated the construction and commissioning phase would take about eight to 10 months and would generate employment for a construction workforce of 80. The project has an estimated operational life of 35 to 40 years, with the option for extensions.

Risen’s Australian portfolio includes the the 103 MW Yarranlea Solar Farm in Queensland.

Image: Risen Energy

The Coleambally battery is part of a growing pipeline of renewable energy generation and storage Risen is pursuing in Australia.

Risen said it will continue to develop and invest in renewable energy projects in Australia with a target of developing 3 GW and delivering 1 GW renewable projects by 2027.

This includes the 200 MW/400 MWh Bungama battery energy storage system project being developed near Port Pirie in South Australia.

The project, which received developmental approval in 2021 and is currently going through grid connection approval, is one of eight grid-scale battery projects to have recently been granted funding by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).

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