United States-based renewables developer BrightNight announced it has received approval from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to connect its proposed Mortlake Energy Hub to the National Electricity Market (NEM).
Being developed on an approximately 1,000-hectare site near Mortlake, about 200 kilometres west of state capital Melbourne, the Mortlake Energy Hub is to include a 360 MW solar farm comprising almost 800,000 solar panels, coupled with a 300 MW / 600 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).
The project will connect to the grid via a new 500 kV overhead line linking the site to the nearby Mortlake terminal station with a substation equipped with transformers to be constructed east of the existing substation.
Project construction is expected to begin in 2025 with BrightNight saying the Mortlake hub is the only hybrid renewable energy project in Victoria with AEMO-approved generator performance standards for the 500 kV transmission network.
“The hub’s advanced hybrid power plant controller system optimises power distribution between its solar photovoltaic plants and BESS, ensuring grid-code compliance and allowing for tailored power dispatch,” the company said.
BrightNight saying once operational, the system will generate enough dispatchable renewable energy to supply nearly 140,000 Victorian homes, accounting for more than 1% of the state’s total electricity consumption.
The Mortlake hub is BrightNight’s first hybrid renewable energy project in Australia since it announced plans to expand into the local market.
Polly Baranco, head of BrightNight in Australia, said securing grid-connection approval marks a pivotal milestone as the company looks to accelerate its presence in the Australian market.
“Getting grid approval from AEMO for the Mortlake hub is a testament to the expertise and innovation that the BrightNight team brings to Australia and allows us to start showcasing this great project to customers,” she said.
“The Mortlake hub is the most advanced project in BrightNight’s Australia portfolio and provides a blueprint for our upcoming projects as we approach gigawatt-scale buildout in the market.”
BrightNight has previously said it is developing a global portfolio of 23 GW across the United States and Asia Pacific, including Australia. The company already has a footprint in South-East Asia, announcing earlier this year that it will team with Philippines-based energy company ACEN to develop the latter’s 1 GW renewables portfolio in the Philippines.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
1 comment
By submitting this form you agree to pv magazine using your data for the purposes of publishing your comment.
Your personal data will only be disclosed or otherwise transmitted to third parties for the purposes of spam filtering or if this is necessary for technical maintenance of the website. Any other transfer to third parties will not take place unless this is justified on the basis of applicable data protection regulations or if pv magazine is legally obliged to do so.
You may revoke this consent at any time with effect for the future, in which case your personal data will be deleted immediately. Otherwise, your data will be deleted if pv magazine has processed your request or the purpose of data storage is fulfilled.
Further information on data privacy can be found in our Data Protection Policy.