Tesla’s giant battery installation in Australia is about to get a lot bigger.
The Powerpack farm is already the world’s largest lithium-ion battery, but the plan is to grow it by 50%.
Renewable energy company Neoen said in a press release that the Hornsdale Power Reserve will receive a 50 MW/64.5 MWh expansion. The expansion will be completed in the first half of 2020.
In its first year of operation, the battery has saved consumers more than $50 million AUD, according to the release.
“Alongside additional power system reliability and continued cost savings to consumers, the expansion will provide an Australian-first large-scale demonstration of the potential for battery storage to provide inertia to the network which is critical to grid stability and the future integration of renewable energy,” the release said. “This will ensure South Australia can continue to harvest its world class wind and solar resources and support the transition to net 100% renewable energy generation in the 2030s, and further drive down electricity prices for all consumers.”
The South Australian Government is playing an instrumental role in this project by committing $3 million AUD per year for 5 years in grant funding toward the expansion through its Grid Scale Storage Fund, to secure the delivery of the inertia benefits highly needed by the grid. The Hornsdale Power Reserve expansion is the first project to receive support from the fund. On behalf of the Australian Government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency has also committed $8 million AUD in grant funding through its Advancing Renewables Program.