AGL has added three new grid-wide batteries and a 200 MW solar power plant to its development pipeline as it shifts its energy portfolio from high-emission coal power generation to renewable energy sources.
Energy company AGL has revealed plans to build a 500MW battery with four hours of dispatchable capacity next to its Tomago aluminum smelter near Newcastle in New South Wales as part of its bid to add 12GW of new wind, solar and energy storage. This includes an interim target of up to 5 GW of new renewables and strengthening by the end of the decade.
AGL said at an investor conference in Melbourne on Friday that the 500MW/2000MWh battery being built next to the Tomago smelter, which is New South Wales’ largest consumer of electricity and accounts for more than 10% of the state’s electricity use, is. part of the renewables development pipeline, which has swelled from 3.2 GW to 5.3 GW in the past four months.
AGL also revealed an unidentified 400MW battery project in New South Wales and a 500MW battery project in Queensland have officially entered its growing renewable energy generation and storage development pipeline. The power giant also revealed its plans to develop a 200 MW solar power plant in New South Wales.
AGL chief executive and managing director Damien Nicks said the addition of new projects means the company is “well placed” to achieve its decarbonisation strategy, which will see it grow its renewable energy generation development portfolio from 1.7GW to 8GW with wind power. solar energy by 2035. It also aims to increase its consolidation capacity, including grid batteries and pumped water, from 1.4 GW to 7.3 GW during this period.
The company has previously announced plans to end coal-fired power generation by 2035 and confirmed on Friday its commitment to close its Bayswater power station in the Hunter Valley between 2030 and 2033, while the Loy Yang A power station in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley will close in 2035.
“This is the biggest change this market has ever seen in terms of what to do in the next 12 years,” Nicks said. “Today we are sharing with the market how we are implementing our strategy to connect our customers to a sustainable future and transform our energy portfolio.”
AGL is in the final stages of bringing a 250MW/250MWh battery online on South Australia’s Torrens Island. A 50MW/50MWh battery is being developed near the remote NSW town of Broken Hill, which is expected to be operational within the next three months.
Investors were told that AGL plans to deliver 850MW of grid-wide batteries by the end of 2025 as the utility plans to develop a 500MW/2GWh large battery at the now-closed Liddell CO2 site. ignited power station in the Hunter Valley.
AGL said a final investment decision on the Liddell battery has been pushed back to the end of this year, with the first 250MW phase expected to receive funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
AGL said it plans to fund 5.5GW of its target of 12GW of newly confirmed renewable energy capacity from its own balance sheet, while the remaining 6.5GW would be sourced through joint ventures, partnerships, third-party procurement and distributed energy resources, including rooftop solar energy.
