Singapore-based energy developer Vena Energy has announced the commencement of commercial operation of its 100MW/150MWh Wandoan South battery energy storage system in the Darling Downs region of Queensland, Australia, following an 18-month operation. Test and debug.
Vena Energy said full operational dispatch of the Wandoan South battery energy storage system has now officially been handed over to Australia's largest electricity producer, AGL Energy, as part of a long-term power purchase agreement.
The project, located near Wandoan in south-west Queensland, is the state's largest battery storage system connected to the grid to date and one of the largest in Australia, capable of powering approximately 57,000 Australian households each year.
Owen Sela, general manager of Vena Energy Australia, said the project's operationalization represented a transformative milestone for the company and for Australia's renewable energy future, with battery storage expected to play a role in improving grid stability and supporting the energy transition. important role.
"We believe energy storage is the key to addressing the intermittency problem of renewable energy, and Wandoan South battery storage will play a key role in accelerating Australia's green energy transition and mitigating climate change," he said. Queensland's largest utility The utility-scale battery storage system, now operational, will provide more renewable electricity and help manage the supply and demand balance of the grid.”
Vena Energy, which completed the financial close of the second stage of last year's TailemBend project in South Australia earlier this year, said the Wandoan South battery storage system was only the first stage of the larger Wandoan South battery storage project, which will eventually Deploy and operate a 650MW solar power generation facility and a 450MW energy storage system.
Sela said full operational dispatch of the Wandoan South battery storage system has been handed over to AGL Energy, which will now dispatch the battery storage system under a fixed 15-year long-term contract.
The company's chief operating officer, Markus Brokhof, said the battery storage system will be able to store clean energy during times of low demand and dispatch it during periods of peak demand for electricity.
He says. "Battery storage systems are very important to provide safe electricity to the energy market and avoid power system constraints, especially in areas like Darling Downs, where local loads are high, so there is a lot of potential for renewable energy construction in the next decade. ."
AGL Energy said the battery storage system would allow it to tap excess solar power in Queensland and provide stored electricity when renewable energy projects run low.
For AGL Energy, the Wandoan South battery energy storage system deal is part of the company's strategy to significantly increase its flexible storage and generation capacity to support the transition from coal to renewable energy.
The company has begun developing a 250MW/1GWh battery storage system on-site at its Torrens Island power station in South Australia, and plans to deploy a 500MW/2GWh battery storage system at the Liddell coal-fired power station in New South Wales have Approval.
AGL Energy also announced plans to deploy a 200MW/800MWh battery storage system at Loy YangA power station in Victoria, and has received approval from the NSW planning authority to build a 50MW/100MWh battery storage system at Broken Hill, and announced Agreed with Maoneng to sign power purchase agreements for four 50MW/100MWh battery storage systems deployed in NSW. AGL Energy is already operating a 30MW/8MWh battery storage system in Dalrymple, South Australia.