Sunrise Energy scores planning approval for 400 MWh WA battery

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Western Australia’s (WA) Regional Joint Development Assessment Panel has unanimously approved Sunrise Energy Group’s plan to develop a standalone 100 MW / 400 MWh battery energy storage system near the town of Wellesley in the state’s southwest.

Perth-based Sunrise plans to build the $200 million (USD 134 million) facility on a five-hectare lot in the Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area near Bunbury, about 170 kilometres south of the state capital.

Sunrise said the site, which is currently used for sand mining activities, is adjacent to government-owned utility Western Power’s 132 kV substation and 330 kV terminal switch yard. The battery energy storage system will connect to the South West Interconnected System (SWIS) via a 132 KV overhead transmission line that transects the site and provide services to the Wholesale Energy Market in WA.

Sunrise said the proposed Wellesley battery will draw and store energy from the grid during periods when there is excess renewable generation and dispatch it back to the grid during times of peak demand, helping to stabilise the grid and support the continued adoption of renewable energy sources in WA’s main electricity grid.

“There is considerable potential for this project to address intermittencies in energy supply due to the ability for battery facilities to respond quickly to fluctuations in the grid and in particular, to support of intermittent wind and solar generation,” the company said in its planning documents.

Sunrise said construction will commence once all approvals have been secured and following completion of any pre-construction conditions. It is anticipated that construction of the facility will take between 12 and 18 months.

The Wellesley battery is among a slew of big battery projects being rolled out in WA as the state government seeks to ramp up energy storage capacity to support its planned transition from coal-fired power to renewables.

These include the 560 MW / 2,240 MWh battery being built by French renewable energy and storage developer Neoen near the town of Collie, and the nearby 500 MW, 2,000 MWh battery being built by state-owned energy utility Synergy.

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.

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