Renewables developer Neoen is to expand its Hornsdale Power Reserve energy story system in South Australia by 50%.
The 50MW/64.5 megawatt-hour expansion, supported by Tesla, will be completed in the first half of 2020.
According to Neoen, alongside additional power system reliability and cost savings, the expansion will provide Australia’s first large-scale demonstration of the potential for battery storage to provide inertia into the network which is critical to grid stability and the future integration of renewable energy.
The South Australian Government is providing A$3m (€1.8m) a year for five years in grant funding toward the expansion, via its Grid Scale Storage Fund, to secure the delivery of the inertia benefits for the grid.
The Hornsdale Power Reserve expansion is the first project to receive support from the fund, which was established in November last year to “accelerate” the deployment of new storage projects capable of addressing some of the key challenges that are having cost and security impacts on the South Australian power system.
On behalf of the Australian Government, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency has committed AS$8m in grant funding through its Advancing Renewables Program.
The expansion will also be the first battery project in Australia to benefit from debt financing support from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).
Neoen Australia managing director Louis de Sambucy said: “I would like to thank the South Australian Government, ARENA and the CEFC in supporting the expansion of the Hornsdale battery.
“The support of the South Australian Government has been central to the project, alongside its vision of making the state an exporter of renewable energy … I would also like to acknowledge the great support of the Australian Renewable Energy Agency to bring forward the critical innovations and regulatory changes that the network requires.”