Perth contractor lands $160 million contract for Collie battery

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Perth-headquartered contractor SCEE Group has landed a $160 million (USD 104.5 million) contract to undertake civil, electrical and major equipment installation works for the 500 MW, four-hour Collie battery energy storage system being built near the town of the same name.

The battery, being built just north of the existing Collie Power Station that is to be shut down by 2027, is part of a suite of new battery energy storage projects backed by the Western Australian (WA) government as it prepares for the impending retirement of the state’s coal-fired power plants.

The Collie battery is the third big battery being delivered by Synergy in the state’s southwest, with the 100 MW / 200 MWh first stage of the Kwinana battery already operating and the 200 MW / 800 MWh second stage of the project under construction and due for completion later this year.

French renewable energy and storage developer Neoen is also building a battery energy storage system at Collie, having commenced construction of the second stage of what is to be a 560 MW / 2,240 MWh facility.

WA Energy Minister Reece Whitby said these batteries will collect excess energy from the state’s rooftop solar system during the day and release it at peak periods, providing significant security to the South West Interconnected System (SWIS).

“Synergy’s Collie battery will be a major piece of infrastructure when complete and will play a critical role in Western Australia achieving net zero emissions by 2050,” he said.

SCEE Group subsidiary SCEE Electrical has been awarded the contract for the provision of the civil and electrical balance of plant works for Synergy’s Collie battery energy storage system that is scheduled to come online in late 2025.

The works will include installing and commissioning about 640 battery container units, 160 inverters and 220 kilometres of high-voltage cabling, as well as managing a laydown facility at the nearby Port of Bunbury.

Chinese battery manufacturer Contemporary Amperex Technology Co Limited (CATL) has been contracted to supply its 650 EnerC Plus, containerised liquid-cooling battery systems for Collie. Spanish manufacturer Power Electronics will deliver the inverters for the project.

Collie-based earthworks specialists Cardinal Contractors has been awarded the contract to complete site preparation earthworks for the battery facility.

The project is expected to create up to 500 jobs at the peak of construction.

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