The 25MW Gannawarra energy storage system has started operating in the Australian state of Victoria.
The battery plant, which is integrated with the 60MW Gannawarra solar farm, was developed by a consortium of Edify Energy, Tesla and EnergyAustralia, with co-financing coming from Wirsol Energy.
It is completing commissioning and already operating as a market participant in the National Electricity Market, the developers said.
They added that the project is the first to be retro-fitted to an existing solar farm in the country, “providing a new commercial model for other renewable and storage facilities in Australia”.
Edify Energy oversaw deployment and construction of the project, which uses Tesla’s lithium-ion battery technology.
Energy retailer EnergyAustralia will charge and dispatch electricity from the facility until 2030 in combination with the solar farm.
Edify Energy chief executive John Cole said: “The entire sector is aware of the potential for storage projects to not only provide invaluable services to the market and the grid, but also to enable the roll out of more and more clean and cheap renewable energy.
“We are very proud to have developed, structured and overseen the construction of two projects that together can serve as a model for wider adoption of storage into the market and the realisation of a high renewable future.
“We intend to continue our roll out of storage and renewables projects and help our corporate and other customers achieve their energy and sustainability objectives.”
Wirsol Energy managing director Mark Hogan said: “We are delighted to reach this crucial milestone at Gannawarra solar farm.
“The overall project and how it has evolved is unique to the industry which in turn sets a benchmark for future projects and enables the ability to optimise the delivery of energy at peak times supporting demand throughout the daily cycle, providing a range of direct and indirect benefits to Victorian and Australian consumers.”
EnergyAustralia managing director Catherine Tanna said: “The ability to store and quickly release energy will help integrate renewables into the system as coal-fired plants progressively retire.”