Two energy storage technology companies have been chosen by AGL to supply approximately 1,000MW of grid-scale battery storage under non-exclusive framework agreements.
AGL Chief Operating Officer, Markus Brokhof, said Wärtsilä and Fluence were chosen through a competitive tender process for their capability, experience and pricing as well as their alignment with AGL’s values and strategic objectives.
“This framework agreement is another example of AGL getting on with the business of energy transition and will enable delivery against our commitment to build 850MW of grid-scale battery storage by FY2024,” Mr Brokhof said.
“Wärtsilä and Fluence are both global leaders in energy storage technologies, ensuring we are investing in the highest standards for performance, reliability and safety.
“We are already well advanced with our planning process and these framework agreements will reduce tender timeframes for individual projects, enabling faster project schedules and commercial operation.
“We’re excited to see our grid-scale battery plans begin to come to life; we know energy storage technology is critical in creating cleaner and smarter distributed energy infrastructure.
“Our grid-scale battery plans provide critical firming capacity to the market and will play a leading role in the energy industry’s transition over the coming decades.”
In 2020, AGL announced plans to build batteries at Loy Yang A power station in Victoria (200MW), Liddell power station (150MW) and Broken Hill (50MW) in NSW, and Torrens Island (250MW) in South Australia.
Mr Brokhof said AGL has been Australia’s largest private investor in renewables and is now leading in the development of storage technology such as batteries, ranging in size from grid scale to residential.
“Grid-scale batteries allow AGL to leverage excess solar and wind generation to provide capacity when renewable sources are not generating,” Mr Brokhof said.
“These plans are part of the commitments made in our Climate Statement which targets net zero emissions by 2050.”
Wärtsilä Energy Sales Director, Suraj Narayan, said he was delighted that AGL had selected Wärtsilä as one of the suppliers for the projects under its grid-scale battery plans.
“AGL is a valued customer for Wärtsilä and we look forward to providing our smart technology solutions to support AGL’s plans for critical firming capacity that will play a leading role in the energy transition from coal to renewables,” Mr Narayan said.
Fluence Vice President of Global Markets, Jan Teichmann, said AGL is leading the way, taking battery-based energy storage in Australia to the next level to deliver large-scale flexibility that is critical to support the National Electricity Market.
“Australia’s grid is evolving quickly, and batteries can fill critical gaps left by coal and gas retirements, both as the super-fast services needed to strengthen the grid and as a source of peak power,” Mr Teichmann said.
“As a pioneer of the technology, Fluence’s team has seen the demand for energy storage grow to where we are now regularly contracting and deploying both 100+ MW storage solutions and portfolios of storage assets on grids around the world.”
