French utility Engie and its project partners have commissioned the Hazelwood battery energy storage system (ESS) in Latrobe Valley in Australia's Victoria state.
This will be Australia's first retired coal-fired power station that will host a battery ESS, according to Engie on 14 June. The Hazelwood site was a 1,542MW brown coal-fired power plant, which was shut in 2017.
The new 150MWh Hazelwood battery ESS, jointly funded and developed by Engie and UK-based battery storage firm Eku Energy, can store the equivalent of an hour of energy generated from the rooftop solar systems of 30,000 homes. US electric services firm Fluence Energy will supply, operate, and maintain the facility.
Victoria last year produced 61pc of its electricity from brown coal-fired power stations in the Latrobe Valley.
The state in May approved the development of a 500kV transmission line, which it said will boost renewable electricity production in the coal-dependent jurisdiction. It is aiming for 95pc of its electricity to come from renewable sources by 2035.
"The Latrobe Valley has been the home of Victoria's energy generation for decades and new investment in technologies like energy storage will help solidify its role in our renewable energy future," said Victoria state energy minister Lily D'Ambrosio.
Argus forecasts industrial applications — mainly for stationary storage applications — will be the second-largest sector after electric vehicles driving lithium-ion battery demand, with industrial applications needing around 214GWh in 2028 and 800GWh by 2032. Battery energy storage will require around 76,500t of lithium by 2033.
