Australia proposes to build the world's largest energy storage battery with an installed capacity of up to 1200 megawatts

With the widespread use of wind and solar energy, super-large energy storage battery projects are accelerating around the world, and Australia is planning to build the world's largest energy storage system at its coal mining center in New South Wales.

The project, located in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales (Australia's coal mining center), will be three times larger than the current largest California battery project in the world. The project aims to increase Australia's share of renewable energy and store energy for Electroweb.

Energy Pty, a renewable energy fund, said in a statement on Friday that the company plans to start building 1200 megawatts of units in early 2022 and put them into use the following year.

Morris Yama (Morris Iemma), chairman of the company, said in a statement that large batteries "will play an important role in filling the gap in the phasing out of coal and natural gas power generation assets". He said the project would support a long-term shift in the role of the Hunter Valley, a traditional coal mining hub.

In fact, companies are looking to build larger and larger batteries to support the use of Australia's huge potential for wind and solar power. According to media estimates, about 800MW of Electroweb projects will be completed this year, almost twice the country's total financing capacity to date.

Elon Musk (Elon Musk) made a successful bet in 2017 when he built and operated a 100MW system (the largest battery system at the time) in South Australia in 100 days. Since then, Australia has been at the forefront of large battery technology.

In addition to the CEP fund, other companies have also entered the Australian renewable energy market. Origin Energy Ltd. Last month, the company said it was considering building a 700MW system in New South Wales, while France's Neoen SA was considering a 500MW battery system in New South Wales and a 300MW base in Victoria.

Vistra Corp. The Moss Landing project in California is currently the largest energy storage battery system in the world, with a capacity of 300MW; Vistra Corp. There are plans to expand it to 400 megawatts.

CEP plans to issue a letter of intent soon to select battery suppliers for the Hunter Valley project. The fund also has separate plans to build a virtual power plant by connecting rooftop solar power to industrial bases and battery storage across Australia.