- ACEN Australia to commence with a 200 MW/2 hour battery energy storage system project to be supplied by Energy Vault
- The project will be built using the most advanced grid-forming inverter technology which can provide system stability services that coal, hydro and gas generators currently provide
- It is another milestone for ACEN Australia and is co-located with its inaugural project, New England Solar, which is a significant generator in the National Electricity Market
3 June 2024, New South Wales, Australia – ACEN Australia recently awarded the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC), and Operations and Maintenance (O&M) contracts for its New England 200 MW/2 hour Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
Energy Vault has been appointed to lead the construction of ACEN Australia’s New England BESS located in New South Wales which is set to commence this year and be operational by 2026.
The battery is another milestone for ACEN Australia and is co-located with ACEN Australia’s inaugural project, New England Solar, which is a significant generator in the National Electricity Market (NEM). Once finished, it will be one of the nation’s largest co-located solar and battery energy storage facilities providing stored energy to the grid when it is needed.
ACEN Australia Managing Director David Pollington said the battery and its grid forming inverters are a game-changer for the National Electricity Market.
“The New England BESS will be built using some of the most advanced grid-forming inverter technology which can provide system stability services that coal, hydro and gas generators currently provide”, he said.
“With NSW’s ageing coal fired generators due to close, large battery energy storage systems like this are critical for the successful transition to an electricity grid supplied by renewables.”
Energy Vault, with an impressive track record in electrical system integration, has established itself as a leader in the energy storage industry.
Energy Vault Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Piconi expressed his enthusiasm about the venture: “Australia is playing a pivotal role in the global clean energy transition and has been a key market for our ongoing efforts. We are excited to join forces with ACEN Australia in our shared mission to create a sustainable future”.
The appointment of Energy Vault follows the signing in March this year of a Cooperation Agreement between ACEN Australia and Marubeni Asian Power Singapore committing both parties to work together on the delivery of the New England 200MW/2hour BESS. The 50-50 partnership has a projected investment of AU $250 million.
The New England BESS with its innovative inverter system is being built with the support of the NSW Government’s Emerging Energy Program.
ENDS.
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Joey Chalk
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About ACEN Australia
ACEN Australia is the platform representing ACEN’s renewable energy assets in Australia. With more than 1 gigawatt (GW) capacity of large scale renewable energy generation in construction and operations, and more than 13GW capacity in the development pipeline, its portfolio includes solar, wind, battery and pumped hydro projects across Australia.
New England Solar (Stage 1) in NSW is ACEN Australia’s first operational project. It is one of Australia’s largest solar projects participating in the National Electricity Market (NEM) and is the largest solar project in Australia to be financed on a fully merchant basis. Stubbo Solar in the NSW Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone is ACEN Australia’s second project, which commenced construction in late 2022.
With 90+ employees and growing, our people are based in Tasmania, Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and West Australia.
www.acenrenewables.com.au
About Energy Vault
Energy Vault® develops and deploys utility-scale energy storage solutions designed to transform the world’s approach to sustainable energy storage. The Company’s comprehensive offerings include proprietary gravity-based storage, battery storage, and green hydrogen energy storage technologies. Each storage solution is supported by the Company’s hardware technology-agnostic energy management system software and integration platform. Unique to the industry, Energy Vault’s innovative technology portfolio delivers customized short-and-long-duration energy storage solutions to help utilities, independent power producers, and large industrial energy users significantly reduce levelized energy costs while maintaining power reliability. Utilizing eco-friendly materials with the ability to integrate waste materials for beneficial reuse, Energy Vault’s EVx™ gravity-based energy storage technology is facilitating the shift to a circular economy while accelerating the global clean energy transition for its customers. Please visit www.energyvault.com for more information.