South Australia government backs plans for massive solar plus wind plus storage project.
Ambitious plans to combine wind, solar, battery storage and potentially green hydrogen production at a hybrid “24/7” energy generation facility in South Australia have won development approval from the state government.
The Neoen Australia Crystal Brook Energy Park has proposed to install up to 125MW of wind generation, 150MW of solar and a 130MW/400MWh lithium-ion battery storage facility around 23km southeast of Port Pirie and 3km north of the town of the same name in South Australia. The project also proposes to add up to 50MW of hydrogen production capability (or up to 25,000kg per day) on-site or at Port Pirie, pending the outcome of a state government-backed feasibility study.
In a statement on Tuesday, Neoen said its “next generation” clean energy plans had received the green light from government to proceed to development and help “keep the lights on and cut electricity bills” for households and businesses. “With this project, we look forward to building on the success of the Hornsdale Wind Farm and Power Reserve, which since commencing operations in 2017, has helped to stabilise the grid and saved South Australian consumers over $50 million,” said Neoen Australia’s head of development, Garth Heron.
“Changing the role of renewables, from just providing power when available to providing firm power 24-hours a day is essential for long-term sustainability, and this project will be the first of its kind to offer that type of power service in Australia.”
Neoen says that the lithium-ion storage facility planned for Crystal Brook, which would be more powerful and have nearly four times the storage capacity of the Hornsdale Tesla “Big Battery,” would help to ensure that the energy park’s output matched the state’s average daily energy load. The $500 million project will also feature “Australia’s tallest” wind turbines – at 240m high – a feature that has generated some opposition from the local community.
7 August 2019
IEEFA
