Western Australian government-owned utility Synergy has revealed plans to build a new 200MW/800MWh battery energy storage system in the town of Kwinana to support the state’s grid and enable the use of renewable energy sources.
Western Australian government-owned energy producer and retailer Synergy plans to install a 200MW/800MWh battery energy storage system alongside a 100MW/200MWh large battery currently being built on the site of the decommissioned Kwinana power station. , south of Perth.
Synergy has submitted a development application to the Joint Development Assessment Panel to build an estimated A$450 million ($300 million) grid-wide battery alongside the 100MW/200MWh Kwinana Big Battery, which starts operations in April. The battery was initially estimated to be operational in September 2022, but the project has been delayed due to issues related to global supply chain issues.
Once completed, the Kwinana Big Battery will be connected to the State Main Grid (SWIS) and will have the capacity to power 160,000 homes for two hours. Synergy, which operates and manages the battery energy storage system, said it will be an important part of its future asset mix as Western Australia’s state-owned coal-fired power stations are phased out by 2030.
“Batteries are flexible, they provide grid stability and they support the integration of more renewable energy into the grid,” said Synergy CEO David Fyfe.
Fyfe said the Kwinana Big Battery and proposed other energy storage systems are part of the utility’s commitment to deploy 1,100MW of new large-scale storage by the end of the decade. It aims to ensure stability of supply, because the continuous use of rooftop solar energy and renewable energy sources forces changes in the energy system.
Western Australian Energy Minister Bill Johnston has also backed the introduction of large-scale energy storage to support the addition of renewable energy to the grid. He said it will smooth out fluctuations in demand and supply of renewable energy and significantly contribute to the security and stability of the grid.
“Increasing energy storage over the next decade is critical to addressing system security risks such as high output from rooftop solar and ensuring a reliable power supply to Western Australia’s main electricity grid,” he said.
Synergy said construction of the second large battery will begin as soon as planning permission is granted. Voimalaitos is already taking potential suppliers on board and securing long-term Wire products for the project.
The proposed Synergy Big battery is one of several energy storage projects in Western Australia. The Australian unit of French renewable energy developer Neoen has submitted planning documents to develop a 1GW/4GWh battery near the coal town of Collie in WA’s south-west and a 200MW/400MWh battery at Muchea, north-east of Perth.
Victoria-based developer Sunshot Energy is also exploring large-scale energy storage, which would enable a 600-800MWh battery to be built as part of a proposed green hydrogen industrial hub near Collie in Western Australia.
