Utility Scale Storage

Australian green hydrogen proponent Fortescue Future Industries and French renewables major Total Eren are among five project developers provided with exclusivity over land in the Northern Territory government’s Middle Arm Sustainable Development Precinct on Darwin Harbour.

The Queensland government has awarded two key contracts for what it says will be the largest pumped hydro energy project in the world, with the proposed 5 GW/120 GWh Pioneer-Burdekin pumped hydro energy storage system to form a cornerstone of the state’s energy transition.

Octopus Australia has acquired a 175 MW solar and 400 MWh battery project in Queensland’s Western Downs region. It plans to integrate these assets with its newly commissioned 180 MW Dulacca Wind Farm to create one of Australia’s largest multi-technology renewable energy parks.

US-based Salgenx says it has successfully integrated ultracapacitors with its saltwater redox flow batteries, resulting in significantly better power response and system performance.

Griffith University researchers have developed a tool to identify sites for pumped hydro storage projects. Using North Queensland to demonstrate the tool, the researchers identified 14 potentially feasible sites in the region where the LCOE ranged between $0.04/kWh – $0.27/kWh.

Phillip Island off Victoria’s southern coast has switched on a 5 MW/10 MWh lithium-ion phosphate battery to support the island’s grid during peak tourism periods.

Construction of Australia’s first commercial-scale concentrated solar power plant is on track to begin next year with developer Vast appointing American Australian engineering company Worley to help deliver a 30 MW/288 MWh facility planned for South Australia.

Queensland has laid out an ambitious vision for the state’s energy future, releasing draft legislation that calls for an additional 22 GW of new wind and solar projects by 2035, supported by at least 12 GW of storage, firming and dispatchable technologies including grid-scale batteries and pumped hydro storage.

Australian energy major AGL is pushing ahead with plans to transform its Loy Yang power station site in Victoria into a clean energy industrial hub, announcing it has signed a deal with Solar Recovery Corporation to explore the feasibility of establishing a PV panel recycling facility at the site.

Construction of eight large-scale renewable energy generation and storage projects with a combined capacity of more than 1 GW commenced in Australia in the first quarter of 2023 but the Clean Energy Council has warned the project pipeline is drying up as “headwinds” increase.