Energy company EnergyAustralia has today (28 February) confirmed that it has started construction on its 350MW/1,400MWh Wooreen battery energy storage system (BESS) days after it reached financial close.
The 4-hour duration BESS is situated within the Latrobe Valley in Victoria. It is being developed partly to replace EnergyAustralia’s 1,450MW Yallourn coal-fired power station, which is scheduled for retirement in mid-2028.
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The project’s financial closure was secured on 20 February, and construction is set to be completed by 2027.
Finnish marine and energy technology group Wärtsilä has been contracted to supply the BESS solution for the site. At the same time, balance-of-plant (BOP) contractor Zenviron will provide balance-of-plant design, construction, installation, and commissioning of the site. Tilt Renewables is developing the project.
EnergyAustralia managing director Mark Collette highlighted that the BESS represents the company’s most significant investment in a single project.
“Wooreen will provide capacity to meet demand peaks while enabling more renewable energy to enter the electricity market, contributing to better customer energy outcomes,” said Collette.
“We thank the Victorian and Australian governments for their support on this project as they have been instrumental in helping us reach financial close on WESS. EnergyAustralia looks forward to delivering the Wooreen Energy Storage System by 2027.”
Australia’s first proposed 4-hour system
EnergyAustralia announced the battery project in 2021. As reported by Energy-Storage.news at the time of that announcement the BESS will help maintain reliable electricity supplies and the stable operation of the grid.
When EnergyAustralia submitted documents to the state’s Department of Environment, Land, Water, and Planning for the BESS in 2022, the project was deemed Australia’s first proposed 4-hour duration system.
According to the organisation, the BESS name was gifted by the Gunaikurnai Elders, the First Nations people on whose land the system will sit. The term Wooreen means ‘light’.
Andrew Tang, vice-president of energy storage & optimisation at Wärtsilä Energy, said: “This project is a landmark step for EnergyAustralia as they continue to decarbonise their asset portfolio while maintaining reliability for their customers. Australia has already made great strides towards its decarbonisation targets, and this project will further boost its renewable energy capacity.”
Last year, Tang discussed with ESN Premium how Australia is becoming the multi-gigawatt proving ground for BESS assets. “The projects in Australia are at a scale that is not seen anywhere else in the world,” Tang said when discussing the company’s involvement in Australia’s largest BESS: New South Wales’ Eraring project.
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