NSW govt to fund ACEN feasibility study
BY LENIE LECTURA – JANUARY 20, 2023
from Business Mirror
ACEN Australia, the platform representing ACEN Corp.’s renewable energy (RE) assets in Australia, received a big boost from the New South Wales (NSW) government for its 800megawatt (MW) Phoenix pump-hydro project.
It said Thursday the pumped hydro project has been selected by EnergyCo and WaterNSW to receive feasibility funding to determine if it can support NSW energy security, help replace retiring coal-fired generation capacity and support the achievement of the NSW government’s RE objectives outlined in the NSW electricity strategy.
“The project is being supported by the NSW government through WaterNSW’s RE and Storage Program, and also through the AU$7 million in feasibility study funding by EnergyCo under its pumped hydro recoverable grants program,” ACEN said in a statement.
The 12-hour duration storage project is to be located within NSW’s Central-West Orana RE Zone. If the project is found feasible and constructed, it could offer energy solutions to support several nearby wind and solar assets. Renewable energy is rapidly moving ahead in Australia. Storing energy for later use is critical to embedding it into a reliable national electricity supply. Pumped hydro energy and storage will benefit NSW, enabling dispatchable energy generators to complement RE projects.
“ACEN Australia is excited to be progressing the project with support from the NSW government. This project has the potential to facilitate more renewable projects in the Central West Orana region and provide valuable firming services in NSW,” said ACEN Australia Chief Executive Officer Anton Rohner.
He added that the project will be bidding for long-term energy services agreements for long-duration storage under the Electricity Infrastructure Investment Safeguard.
ACEN International CEO Patrice Clausse said the funds will help deliver the valuable renewable energy firming capacity needed. “We commend the NSW government for supporting such exceptional technologies. ACEN looks forward to building this project as part of its goal to deliver 20GW of RE by 2030.”
Should the project be found viable, Phoenix Pumped Hydro is expected to commence construction in 2025 and be operational before 2030, aligning with NSW government’s target of at least 2GW of new long duration storage by 2030.
ACEN Australia has more than 1.5 GW of projects under construction or at an advanced stage of development, including New England Solar, New England Battery, Stubbo Solar, and Valley of the Winds projects in the NSW New England and Central West Orana RE zones.
