The Australian Capital Territory (ACT) government has announced the development application has been approved to deliver the first stream of the Big Canberra Battery project that is to support the ongoing rollout of large-scale renewables and rooftop solar.
The territory government said the two-hour capacity battery, to be deployed at Williamsdale on the ACT’s southeast border, will form part of a planned network of batteries that will be built throughout the city to form an energy storage ecosystem that can be coordinated and orchestrated to meet the needs of the grid.
The government said the big battery project will be capable of responding rapidly to network constraints and will be able to store enough renewable energy to power one-third of Canberra for two hours during peak demand periods.
The Williamsdale battery will be developed, built and operated by Macquarie Group offshoot Eku Energy.
The battery will be operated under a financing deal that will see the ACT government receive a share of the revenue from the merchant operations of the battery in the National Electricity Market while the territory will provide Eku with fixed quarterly payments over 15 years.
Construction is due to start later this year with completion expected in 2025.
“The approval of the development application is an important milestone as we move towards construction commencement in 2024,” Eku Chief Executive Officer Dan Burrows said.
“This battery will provide safe, secure and reliable energy to Canberrans and we are thrilled to be supporting the ACT government’s commitment towards achieving net zero emissions in the territory by 2045.”
The ACT government said in addition to the Williamsdale facility, it has also finalised the installation of batteries at nine government sites across the city as part of the second stream of the big battery project. Another two batteries are to be installed at other government sites in early 2025.
“The batteries capture energy generated from rooftop solar panels which will help power the sites and will reduce government spend on electricity, benefitting the broader network during peak electricity consumption times,” the government said.
In addition to these systems, three neighbourhood batteries will be installed in Canberra suburbs as part of the Commonwealth government’s Community Batteries for Household Solar Program.
The Williamsdale battery is among a growing portfolio for Eku which was established in late 2022 and now has a presence here, in the United Kingdom, Japan and Italy.
Burrows said the project represents a significant milestone for Eku as it marks the company’s “first GWh of projects in delivery in Australia.”
Among its Australian projects are the 150 MW / 150 MWh Hazelwood battery that was developed in conjunction with French energy giant Engie, and the 200 MW / 400 MWh Rangebank battery being constructed in collaboration with international energy major Shell. Both are in Victoria.
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