Australia's biggest battery registered and ready for Victorians

Close up of power lines and cables

The Victorian Big Battery has been registered by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and can now begin operating at partial capacity. The battery will be capable of storing enough energy in reserve to power over one million Victorian homes for half an hour.

The project, located in Geelong, is the biggest grid-scale battery in Australia. The battery will have a full capacity of 350MW/450MWh once installation is completed, allowing a significant increase in storage and generation in the Victorian energy market. The operation recently passed the half-way point of installation, its owner French-based renewable and battery storage developer Neoen announced.

With the AEMO this week issuing the project two DUIDs (dispatchable unit identifiers) for its storage and generation capabilities, the Victorian Big Battery will now be allowed to begin operation up to its first ‘hold point’ of around 30MW. The battery will support Victoria’s clean energy transition as it aims to provide more reliable, affordable power for Victorians as the state continues towards its renewable energy target of 50% by 2030.

The Victorian Big Battery is roughly twice the size of the Hornsdale Big Battery in South Australia, with both operating on Tesla Megapack battery modules. The Hornsdale Big Battery, also owned by Neoen, was at a time the biggest of its kind in the world.

A project currently planned for Kurri Kurri in New South Wales intends to become the world’s largest grid-scale battery with a power capacity of up to 1,200MW.

The Victorian Big Battery will improve grid security, providing extra capacity during the peak summer months. The battery will also unlock up to an extra 250MW of peak capacity on the existing Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector through a contract with AEMO.

As Tesla is currently experiencing product shortages in its manufacturing of the Megapack battery modules the Victorian Big Battery is built upon, it’s unsure when the project will be able to be installed to complete capacity. Regardless of any setbacks, the partial operation of the battery is expected to begin this week.

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