The Western Australian Government, through Synergy, has awarded a contract to deliver the state’s biggest lithium-ion battery, worth $155 million.
NHOA Australia has been awarded the contract to deliver Western Australia’s biggest battery, and Perth business GenusPlus Group has been appointed as subcontractor.
NHOA awarded the $50 million contract to GenusPlus Group, for the engineering, procurement, construction and commissioning of the big battery.
The Western Australian Government has committed $140 million towards the big battery project, with the Federal Government contributing $15 million.
Western Australian Energy Minister, Bill Johnston, said, “WA’s biggest battery will support more renewable energy technologies joining the grid and help increase power stability.
“NHOA is one of the world’s top utility-scale energy storage organisations, having installed batteries and microgrids in 26 countries.
“Congratulations to NHOA on winning this contract and to their subcontractor, Belmont business GenusPlus Group, who will require up to 100 workers for the project.”
The 100MW battery, to be built at the decommissioned Kwinana Power Station, will have the capacity to power the equivalent of 160,000 homes for two hours.
Construction will begin in November 2021 with the battery expected to be operational by the end of 2022.
Western Australian Premier Mark McGowan, said, “My Government has committed $140 million to build Western Australia’s biggest battery to support the main electricity grid, which serves more than 1.1 million customers.
“This battery is crucial to WA’s sustainable energy future and a key part of the Distributed Energy Resources Roadmap.
“There is a rapid energy transformation happening and energy storage systems such as this battery will play a key role in providing better energy outcomes for Western Australian households and businesses.”
The battery will be able to store excess rooftop solar energy during the day, when demand is low, and discharge electricity rapidly during the afternoon and evening peak.
This product is especially important as one in three Western Australian households have rooftop solar panels, and this is expected to rise to 50 per cent by 2030.The site is bigger than 20 tennis courts, side-by-side, with space to expand the battery’s power and energy capacity if required in the future.
Synergy will operate the battery, which will help stabilise the electricity system by absorbing fluctuations caused by the increasing number of renewables on the grid.
