Shell Energy Australia has partnered with Green Investment Group (GIG), part of Australia-based venture capital fund Macquarie Asset Management, to build the 200 MW/400 MWh Rangebank battery energy storage system (BESS) in the 20-hectare Rangebank Business Park in Cranbourne on Melbourne’s southeast.
Shell and GIG said the project, which planning documents estimate will cost approximately $80 million, has already reached financial close and will be completed in late 2024.
GIG Global Head of Energy Technology Greg Callman said the battery, to be built near the existing Cranbourne Terminal Station, will deliver a range of benefits for the grid, including increasing Victoria’s renewable energy hosting capacity and delivering essential system services.
“Grid-scale batteries are an essential element in the decarbonisation of the energy sector, and the need for storage solutions is growing rapidly,” he said. “This project will help provide communities with reliable and flexible energy.”
Once fully operational, the Rangebank BESS will have the capacity to power the equivalent of 80,000 homes for an hour during peak periods.
Shell will hold the rights to charge and dispatch energy from the battery through a 20-year offtake agreement.
Shell Energy Australia Chief Executive Officer Greg Joiner said the project signals the company’s commitment to accelerating the energy transition and contributing to growth of firming capacity.
“The Rangebank project is our first grid-scale battery investment in Victoria and marks Shell’s first direct equity investment in a utility-scale BESS globally,” he said.
“Located in one of Melbourne’s fastest-growing population centres, the Rangebank BESS will help to stabilise Victoria’s state electricity supply by providing additional storage capacity which can be discharged at times of peak demand.”
Image: Greenspot
The Rangebank project is the latest addition to Shell’s utility-scale battery portfolio.
Earlier this year the company acquired the development rights for a 500 MW/1000 MWh battery located at the former Wallerawang coal power station site near Lithgow in the Central Tablelands region of New South Wales (NSW).
Shell has also partnered with Ampyr Australia to develop a 500 MW/1,000 MWh battery in Wellington, near Dubbo in the state’s central west.
The Rangebank battery is to be built, serviced, and maintained by United States-headquartered energy storage technology firm Fluence and will utilise the company’s latest Gridstack product.
Melbourne-based real estate company Perfection Private is a minority shareholder in the Rangebank project.
GIG said it will transfer its interest in the project to its newly formed battery storage platform Eku Energy, which has a 4 GWh pipeline of utility scale battery projects in the UK, Australia, Japan and Taiwan.
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