Victoria big battery

The company supplying the technology for what has been branded Australia’s “biggest battery” has cautioned that manufacturers must ramp up their focus on hardware, increase investment in advanced software and improve testing practices to minimise the risk of lithium-ion batteries catching fire.

French renewables developer Neoen has credited the Victorian Big Battery with almost tripling its storage revenues in the first nine months of 2022. To September, the company’s revenues totalled $547 million (USD 347.4 million), with growth in solar and wind revenues paling beside the massive surge from battery storage.

French renewable developer IPP Neoen announced the completion of its Bulgana wind-plus-storage project in the Australian state of Victoria. Having now installed more than 650MW of large-scale solar, wind, and battery storage in the state, the developer has pointed to its “well balanced” renewable portfolio in Victoria including an additional 2GW of projects in the pipeline.

Less than a week after fire broke out at the Victoria Big Battery in Geelong, Australian renewable energy developer Maoneng has given lithium iron phosphate batteries the tick of approval, declaring it will use the technology at its utility scale battery energy storage system planned for Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula.

An expected drop-off in the performance of its Australian battery energy storage assets has sparked a $24 million (€15.6 million) downturn in consolidated revenue for French renewables developer Neoen.

Victoria will be home to one of the world’s largest lithium-ion batteries with the 300 MW / 450 MWh Victoria Big Battery to be constructed on the outskirts of Geelong.

French renewable energy developer Neoen is looking to develop a massive battery near Geelong that will dwarf its largest project to date – South Australia’s 100MW/129MWh Tesla big battery.