Renewable energy developer Acen Australia has filed for approval under the federal government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act for a four-hour big battery featuring grid-forming inverter technology to be built near Emerald in Queensland’s Central Highlands region.
The proposed Lilyvale battery energy storage system would be built on a 151-hectare site about 52 kilometres northeast of Emerald, an area that Acen says is dominated by existing coal mine operations to both the north and south.
In its application under the EPBC Act, Acen says the Lilyvale project will comprise 512 battery containers, 128 inverters and 128 medium-voltage power stations and associated electrical and control equipment. The asset is to connect into the National Electricity Market via network operator Ergon Energy’s adjacent Lilyvale substation.
Acen said the project is a strategic asset that will support Queensland’s transition to renewable energy with its advanced grid-forming inverter technology to improve the reliability and system strength of the regional transmission network.
“Lilyvale BESS is designed to draw energy from the grid when demand is low and dispatch it during periods of higher demand,” it said. “This supports grid balance, efficiency, and system stability.”
The progress on the Lilyvale project comes as Acen announced that its subsidiary Acen International has secured $100 million in financing to support its expansion in Australia and other international markets.
In a filing, the company said it had completed the signing of a facility agreement with the Singapore branch of MUFG Bank for about $154 million (USD 100 million) that will “finance and/or refinance investments in existing and future renewable energy projects outside the Philippines.”
Aside from the Philippines and Australia, Acen has projects in various countries, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, and India.
The company said 3.6 GW of its renewables portfolio is now fully operational with an additional 500 MW in the commissioning stage. Anoth 2.4 GW of projects is under construction globally, with an additional 514 MW of committed capacity, composed of projects with signed tenders or agreements.
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.