ACEN Australia starts major battery storage build

By Maria Bernadette Romero – 27 Feb 2025, 06:57
from Daily Tribune

Work is also underway to expand the switching yard, which will connect the battery and the second stage of the solar farm to Transgrid’s network.

Construction has started on New South Wales’ first large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) in the New England region.

The 200-megawatt (MW) battery, part of ACEN Australia’s 936 MW New England Solar project, is being built by global energy storage company Energy Vault. Supported by the NSW Government’s Emerging Energy Program, the system will provide on-demand power to NSW and Queensland while improving grid stability with advanced inverters.

“This is the first large-scale battery storage project to be built in New England, so this is a great milestone for the region and the National Electricity Market,” ACEN Australia’s Head of Construction and Engineering Tim Greenaway said on Wednesday.

Workers from Uralla, Tamworth, and Armidale are joining teams from Queensland, South Australia, and beyond. Civil and electrical work will increase in the coming months ahead of the battery modules’ arrival in the second half of the year.

“There’s a lot of attention worldwide on the battery storage market in Australia, and so we’re very happy to be making a positive contribution here on such an important project,” said Lucas Sadler, Energy Vault Vice President of Sales Asia.

The system will use lithium-ion batteries with advanced inverters to support the grid by stabilizing voltage, frequency, and reactive power.

Work is also underway to expand the switching yard, which will connect the battery and the second stage of the solar farm to Transgrid’s network. Lumea is leading this effort, which is expected to be completed by mid-year.

Next month, a 250 MVA transformer weighing 261 tonnes will be transported to the site. High-voltage specialist EPEC is overseeing its installation and commissioning.