Battery systems at the Kwinana Battery Stage Two in Western Australia are now in place, marking a significant milestone in expanding the state’s battery portfolio.
Government-owned energy provider Synergy has completed installing the containerised battery systems at what will be WA’s biggest grid-connected battery energy storage system with the capability of providing 200 MW of power with 800 MW hours of energy storage.
The large-scale battery storage will deliver stronger system stability and support the continued uptake of renewable electricity generation in the South West Interconnected System.
The new system is capable of powering over 370,000 average homes in WA for approximately four hours, the state government said in its announcement.
“This news marks an exciting milestone in Western Australia’s renewable energy revolution. Renewables uptake is surging in WA with the SWIS at times powered by more than 80 per cent renewables,” Minister of Energy Reece Whitby said.
“Through a major expansion of battery storage in WA, the Cook Government is ensuring the security and reliability of the State’s energy system,” Whitby added.
Construction of the Kwinana Battery Stage Two has already created more than 160 jobs and is expected to be completed in late 2024.
The newly installed Kwinana Battery Stage Two systems were supplied by Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. Limited. Meanwhile, Power Electronics provided 72 inverters.
“The Kwinana Battery Stage Two is a key part of our energy transition, ensuring WA has cleaner, reliable and affordable energy in the future,” said Premier Roger Cook.
The Western Australian Government has allocated over $3 billion to bolster renewable energy generation, transmission and storage as part of its commitment to the energy transition and delivering cleaner, reliable and affordable energy for WA’s future.
The investment includes support for Synergy to expand its battery assets portfolio to 3,000 MWh of storage capacity by the end of 2025.
Furthermore, installing the new battery systems in Kwinana comes as Synergy preps to kickstart work in Collie on one of Australia’s biggest lithium-based batteries. Once completed, the battery will deliver 500 MW of power with 2,000 MWh of energy storage.
“These large-scale batteries allow us to pump more renewable energy into the grid while keeping our system stable – and it’s great to see this transition happened right in the heart of the Kwinana industrial strip,” Premier Cook said.
