The 360MW Mortlake solar-plus-storage project in Victoria, Australia, is the latest large-scale renewable energy project to be fast-tracked for development by the state government.
The AU$700 million (US$480 million) Mortlake Energy Hub is being developed by US independent power producer (IPP) BrightNight, and recently secured a connection to the National Electricity Market (NEM) from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) in July.
The project is BrightNight''s first hybrid renewable energy project in Australia. It consists of a 360MW solar PV power plant and a 300MW co-located battery energy storage system (BESS), accounting for more than 1% of the state''s total electricity consumption. The company plans to begin construction on the project in 2025.
A statement released by the Victoria government today (3 October) revealed that the Mortlake project became eligible for the Labor government''s Development Facilitation Program pathway, an initiative to speed up the development of critical infrastructure projects in Victoria.
The Mortlake Energy Hub becomes another large-scale energy project to have been fast-tracked through the Victoria government''s new scheme. As covered by our sister site Energy-Storage.news in late August, ACEnergy saw its 350MW/700MWh Joel Joel project fast-tracked, in what will be the state''s "largest" BESS project.
Florida, US-headquartered BrightNight specialises in hybrid renewables-plus-storage and standalone battery storage projects. It secured a US$440 million investment commitment from Goldman Sachs Alternatives earlier this year.
It has featured on Energy-Storage.news in recent weeks for its activities in the US, which include a utility off-take deal in Washington State for a 200MW/800MWh standalone BESS being developed in partnership with Cordelio Power, and an application to build a generation tie-in transmission line (gen-tie) for a hybrid project in Arizona, also with Cordelio.
Victoria is making great progress towards its renewable energy generation targets. The state aims for renewable energy to make up 40% of its electricity generation share by 2025. Currently, the share of renewable energy in the state''s energy mix has grown from 12.2% in 2013-14 to 37.8% in 2022-23.
Victoria already has over 1GW of utility-scale solar PV capacity in operation, with over 5.3GW of capacity approved and an additional 190MW of capacity currently under construction.
The Mortlake project will contribute to the state’s energy storage goals. The government aims to install 6.3GW of energy storage capacity by 2035, and according to the planning documents submitted by BrightNight to the Victorian government, the Mortlake project will meet up to 11% of the state’s 2030 storage capacity target and up to 5% of the state’s 2035 storage capacity target.
Lily D''Ambrosio, Victoria''s minister for energy and resources, emphasised the Mortlake project’s potential to provide grid stability while promoting renewable energy in the state''s electricity mix.
The Victorian Big Battery, a 300MW / 450MWh lithium-ion battery energy storage system (BESS) in Australia, has been officially opened by the Minister for Energy, Environment and Climate Change for the state of Victoria.
Minister Lily D''Ambrosio said her government was "proud to flick the switch on Australia''s biggest battery which will help protect our network in summer, support our renewable revolution and slash energy prices".
The system will charge during the day when abundant renewable energy means electricity is cheap and will open up an additional 250MW of interconnection capacity to allow Victoria to import power from New South Wales at peak times — mainly during summers as alluded to by minister D''Ambrosio.
A 250MW contract is in place with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) under the Victorian government''s System Integrity Protection Scheme (SIPS) to provide that automatic instant response that batteries are capable of will also participate in the National Electricity Market where it can provide grid services such as frequency response.
The government pointed out that batteries can perform a range of applications more quickly, more cleanly and ultimately cheaper in the long run than existing assets like gas-fired generation. Independent analysis has been quoted that predicts AU$2.40 (US$1.71) in benefits will be accrued to Victorian residents and businesses for every AU$1 invested in the battery system.
Located next to Moorabool Terminal Station in the Victorian city of Geelong, the project has been developed by the local subsidiary of France-headquartered renewable power producer Neoen. As with Neoen''s two previous large-scale battery projects in Australia, Tesla BESS equipment has been used work provider AusNet Services also collaborated with the project partners.
The Victorian Big Battery system''s construction has been completed in under a year. It faced a late stage setback along the way when two Tesla Megapacks out of the more than 100 on site were destroyed by fire, just as the system was about to go into final testing before connection to the National Electricity Market (NEM) in July.
However, testing and pre-commissioning activities resumed in September after authorities and experts were satisfied it was safe to do so and that best practice advice had been applied and was being adhered to.
The project achieved financial close in February this year as the Australian national Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) made a debt equity investment of AU$160 million into it alongside funding from Neoen.
"Neoen’s battery is a fantastic achievement as Victoria transitions to our legislated targets of 50% renewables by 2030 and net zero by 2050," Minister Lily D''Ambrosio said.
At the beginning of this month, the Australian Energy Market Commission (AEMC) introduced new rules for participation in the NEM, aimed in part at reducing the barriers to investment in battery storage, although trade group Clean Energy Council and others were critical that network charges for use of the grid by battery systems were not eliminated.
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