ACEN Australia begins 50MW battery storage development

This will be connected to the New England Solar Farm in New South Wales. 

ACEN Australia announced it started the development of its 50-megawatt (MW) one hour battery energy storage system (BESS) that will be connected to the 720MW New England Solar Farm in New South Wales.

“The construction of the BESS is a landmark project for the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) and also the New South Wales economy,” Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall said. 

Marshall said the BESS, which is critical in addressing the intermittency of renewable energy, was funded by an AU$12.5m State Government grant. He noted that the development in New South Wales is amongst Australia’s largest co-located solar and BESS facilities. 

“The company is pleased to be expanding its renewable energy portfolio and contributing to Australia’s transition to a clean energy future,” Eric Francia, President and CEO of ACEN said.

The 720MW solar farm is expected to produce 1,800,000 MWh of clean electricity annually, which is enough to power some 250,000 New South Wales homes.

Construction of the first 400MWac / 520MWdc stage of the New England Solar project is scheduled for completion in 2023. 

Moreover, Anton Rohner, CEO of ACEN Australia said the New England BESS project can be further scaled up to 200MW with two hours of storage capacity. 

 The BESS project is also expected to generate up to 50 jobs during the peak of its construction.