EnergyAustralia has officially commenced construction of the 350 MW / 1,400 MWh Wooreen Battery Energy Storage System being built at Hazelwood North in Victoria’s southeast.
Electricity and gas supplier EnergyAustralia said the utility-scale battery storage facility, which will store enough energy to power 230,000 homes over a four-hour period before needing to be recharged, will add reliability to Victoria’s energy supply while supporting the growth of renewable energy across the state.
Newcastle-headquartered Zenviron, a joint venture between engineering company Monadelphous and renewable energy developer Zem Energy, has been engaged to perform the balance of plant works.
Wartsila has been contracted by EnergyAustralia to supply the battery equipment for the project. The scope of the contract includes engineering design, supply, commissioning, and a 15-year service agreement.
Wartsila said the battery has been designed to operate in grid-following mode and can be switched to grid-forming mode.
Andrew Tang, vice president of energy storage and optimisation at Wartsila, said Wooreen is a pivotal project that will enhance Australia’s infrastructure by providing essential grid stability and supporting the integration of renewable energy.
“We are excited to partner on this significant project,” he said. “Australia has already made great strides towards its decarbonisation targets and this project will further boost its renewable energy capacity.”
The facility is being built adjacent to EnergyAustralia’s gas-fired Jeeralang Power Station. The company said this “strategic positioning” will enable the efficient integration of the battery into the electricity network, ensuring maximum impact for the Latrobe Valley, the Gippsland region, and the broader Victorian energy market.
With construction now underway, the battery is expected to commence operations in 2027, ahead of the planned closure of the nearby coal-fired Yallourn power station in 2028.
EnergyAustralia Managing Director Mark Collette said the more-than $700 million (USD 435.54 million) battery system is the biggest single project investment yet made by the gen-tailer.
“The Wooreen energy storage system is the largest single project investment made by EnergyAustralia,” he said, adding it “will provide capacity to meet demand peaks while enabling more renewable energy to enter the electricity market, contributing to better customer energy outcomes.”
Wooreen is part of EnergyAustralia’s growing portfolio in Australia. The gen-tailer, owned by Hong Kong-based and listed CLP Group, is targeting up to 3 GW of renewable energy in its portfolio by 2030 and more than $5 billion of storage and renewables initiatives over time with projects in the development pipeline including the proposed Hallett and Mt Piper battery systems and Lake Lyell pumped hydro project.
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.
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.