E-mobility and energy storage company New HOrizons Ahead (NHOA) has started installation work on an LFP-based 100MW/200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Western Australia, the state’s largest.
The Government of Western Australia said today (5 August) that the first of 600 units have been installed and the rest of the work would take two months.
The project’s engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract was awarded to NHOA in October by Synergy, a state-owned energy generator and retailer which also trades wholesale energy. The project, pictured, will be located in the Kwinana area, just south of Perth.
A press release said the BESS would engage in renewable load shifting, absorbing rooftop solar energy when in excess and discharging during late afternoon and evening peak periods. It is also intended to provide learnings towards other large-scale projects earmarked for the next five years.
The Government of Western Australia has plans to deploy 1,100MW of new energy storage projects as part of a AU$3.8 billion (US$2.6 billion) new renewable energy infrastructure package announced in June this year.
Premier Mark McGowan said: “I want to acknowledge NHOA – which is delivering the big battery – for their confidence and investment in Western Australia, by establishing its regional headquarters here in Perth. I recently visited their head office and thanked them for their support.
Energy Minister Bill Johnston added “The lithium-ion iron phosphate big battery will be the size of one-and-a-half soccer fields, and will be connected to the Western Power network. Synergy is also implementing a battery management system, to optimise its performance and longevity.”
It is the latest in a flurry of positive energy storage news stories coming out of Australia since a new, more energy transition-friendly government was elected earlier this year.
In the last 24 hours alone, US EPC company started work on a project pairing 400MW/4,000MWh of pumped hydro energy storage with a 200MW/200MWh BESS in Queensland, while development approval was granted to a proposed 500MW/1,000MWh BESS at a retired coal plant in New South Wales, both covered by Energy-Storage.news.