The Solar River Project in South Australia, which involves a 200MW PV array and 100MW battery, has made progress with the awarding of a contract to a major global renewable energy player.
GE has been selected for the supply and integration of one of the largest grid-scale battery deployments for the project. The energy storage system, called the Reservoir, will be coupled to a large 200 MW photovoltaic generation plant.
The Solar River Project will see more than 640,000 solar panels combined with GE’s battery storage system to deliver almost 300MWh in storage capacity. It will be one of the largest batteries in the Southern Hemisphere.
The Solar River Project, one of the world’s largest grid-scale hybrid renewable projects, will be located in South Australia’s Mid North, halfway between Burra and Morgan, and aims to supply enough affordable and reliable renewable energy to power 90,000 South Australian homes.
The Solar River Project CEO, Jason May, said, “The award of the battery contract to General Electric is another major milestone for the project.
“General Electric is a world leader in renewable energy storage technology, and we are very excited to have them on board. General Electric brings a cutting-edge technology to South Australia, by delivering huge energy transfer capacity with an intelligent operating system.”
The storage system is designed to capture the energy produced by the solar sources, for use in time of power demand, which can increase the availability of the plant and enable optimal use of the solar PVs.
Renewable Hybrids CEO, GE Renewable Energy, Prakash Chandra, said, “The Solar River Project will be a flagship for the renewable energy industry and for GE’s role in building out Renewable Hybrid plants.
“Hybrid solutions have become a reality, driven by the demand for reliable and dispatchable renewable energy, which we can integrate using our proprietary controls technology to optimize asset and customer outcomes.
“We are proud to have been selected by the Solar River Project to deliver this very important project that will benefit a large community in this part of the world.”
The Solar River Project received Crown Development Approval in June 2018, and Stage 1 of the project is intended to see the first electricity generated in early 2021.
