The Australian arm of French developer Engie Neoen has announced that the first 270 MW / 540 MWh stage of its Western Downs battery energy storage system in southeast Queensland has commenced operations.
Neoen Australia said in a LinkedIn post the National Electricity Market and Queensland’s electricity network are now benefiting from the Western Downs battery located near the town of Chinchilla, about 250 kilometres west of Brisbane.
The battery features grid-forming inverters that can provide critical grid services such as synthetic inertia, emulating traditional mechanical inertia and considered essential for managing system strength as coal-fired plants retire.
“We are proud to see our first big battery in Queensland operating in and strengthening the National Electricity Market at a capacity of 270 MW / 540 MWh, with grid-forming capabilities,” Neoen said.
“Stage 1 of Western Downs Battery has completed all construction and commissioning works and is ready to support its multiple virtual battery customers.”
The battery is part of Neoen’s Western Downs Green Power Hub that also includes a 400 MW solar farm, which was commissioned in 2023, and the 270 MW / 540 MWh Stage 2 battery that is under construction. That stage is expected to start operations in 2026.
Neoen said once completed, the combined stages of the battery will deliver a total 540 MW / 1,180 MWh of capacity that will operate in conjunction with the solar farm, facilitating the transmission of stored energy into the electricity network.
The battery is supported by multiple “virtual battery” offtake agreements with customers including AGL, Engie and Shell Energy Australia.
Neoen said the virtual battery deals allow users to mirror the services of a grid-scale battery, virtually charging or discharging the battery when they choose, without actually owning or operating the battery. The approach also provides a revenue stream for Neoen which is able to operate the remainder of the battery capacity in other markets, including arbitrage and frequency control, and even grid services.
The milestone for the Western Downs battery project comes after Neoen announced that its 350 MW Culcairn Solar Farm in New South Wales has entered the commissioning phase while the 238.5 MW / 477 MWh Blyth battery energy storage system in South Australia recently completed the commissioning process.
The projects form part of Neoen’s expanding Australian portfolio that now stands at more than 4 GW in operation or under construction.
Its battery energy storage projects include the 150 MW / 193.5 MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia, and the 300 MW / 450 MWh Victoria Big Battery. It is also building the 341 MW / 1,363 MWh second stage of the Collie battery energy storage system in Western Australia. The second stage follows on from the 219 MW / 877 MWh first phase that commenced operations late last year.
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