Octopus Australia, a subsidiary of UK firm Octopus Investments, has acquired the Hanworth and Dunmore battery storage projects, as part of its plan to accelerate the direct replacement of retiring coal-fired plants with stable renewable energy sources.
The 1.2GW/4.8GWh Hanworth battery energy storage system sits in New South Wales (NSW), while the 150MW/300MWh Dunmore battery project in Queensland comes with a 300MW solar farm. The acquisitions mark the newest additions to the company's A$16bn ($11.2bn) renewable project pipeline
Octopus took over the Hanworth project from Australian energy developer Enervest, Octopus said on 4 February. The project connects to Transgrid's Bannaby Terminal Station and will help facilitate low-emission power supply at stable prices, it said. The company has also taken over the Dunmore project from Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia.
Australia is turning to renewables to transition its electricity markets, and it has set a target to achieve an 82pc share of renewables in the grid by 2030. But slow transmission build-out to integrate wind and solar into its electricity grid is hampering progress.
"While some investors are stepping back, we're stepping forward," said Octopus Australia's chief executive officer Sam Reynolds. "Australia still needs new power stations to replace ageing coal plants."
The latest acquisition follows Octopus' purchase of the 100MW Coleambally battery storage project located at NSW's Murrumbidgee late last year from Australian renewable firm Risen Energy.
The company also started the construction of two other projects — the Blind Creek project and the Fulham solar farm and battery storage project last year.
The Blind Creek project has a 300MW solar farm with 243MW/486MWh battery storage, valued at around A$900mn. The Fulham project includes 80MW of solar capacity paired with 128MWh of battery storage, and is valued at over A$300mn.
