World's largest solar and storage project proposed for South Australia
One of the world’s largest solar initiatives is on its way to South Australia, with the project potentially bringing renewable energy into more Aussie homes.
Dutch-based solar developer Photon Energy has submitted proposals for what it claims will be the world’s largest solar and storage project. Photon said in a release they have secured 1,200 hectares of land in South Australia, on which it plans to house the project.
The project is expected to support 300MW of generation capability and 3.6GW of storage, which would see it overtake the current biggest solar and storage project in the world. Photon plans to use Australian technology in the project, developed by Victorian-based company RayGen.
RayGen has experience with Australian solar and battery projects, and are currently building a much-smaller 4MW/50MW solar energy and storage plant in Victoria due for completion in mid 2022.
“We are very excited to be developing this innovative and globally significant solar energy storage project in South Australia,” said Michael Gartner, the chief technology officer of Photon Energy.
Of the 300MW generation capacity of the project, the grid connection capacity will be 150MW, with the other half being deployed on site for storage. Photon has commenced the permitting and grid connection process and expects to reach the technical ready-to-build stage by the end of 2023.
The 150MW provided to the grid can be used to provide renewable energy to Aussie homes, or provide back-up services to other energy sources.
A rival project could prove bigger
Unfortunately for Photon, their solar and storage project could be overtaken as the largest of its kind by another Australian proposal.
Sun Cable’s Australian-Asia PowerLink (AAPowerLink) plans to utilise up to 20GW of solar generation capability and up to 42GW of battery storage. The AAPowerLink has been granted ‘major project’ status by both the Australian and Northern Territory governments.
Although the AAPowerLink infrastructure is planned to be built in the Northern Territory, the project aims to deliver renewable energy to Darwin, Singapore and Asian markets.
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