ACEN hiking New England Solar battery storage capacity

MANILA, Philippines — ACEN Corp.’s wholly owned Australian subsidiary is raising the battery energy storage capacity of its New England Solar project following the approval from the New South Wales (NSW) government.

The listed energy platform of the Ayala Group said the NSW government approved ACEN Australia’s proposal to increase the size of the New England Solar battery energy storage system to 2,800 megawatt hours, which will be capable of supplying 175,000 homes with on-demand energy.

The 400-megawatt alternating current (MWac) Stage 1 of the 720-MWac New England Solar project was officially opened in March.

The NSW Independent Planning Commission approved the project in 2020, which included the approval for a 200 MW per two-hour battery energy storage system.

ACEN said an application to modify the development consent for the project has been approved by the Department of Planning and Environment, which includes an increase in its battery energy storage capacity of 1,400 MW per two hour, or 2,800 megawatt hours.

The company said the modification also includes some changes to Stage 2 of the solar project area, which will help optimize and move the project another step towards construction.

“We thank the New South Wales Government for their continuing support for our projects. We look forward to continuing to work together to decarbonise New South Wales and Australia at large,” ACEN head of international Patrice Clausse said.

The additional storage capacity is expected to allow the project to hike its energy storage potential, as well as provide additional firming and greater network system strength support, resulting in a more stable NSW electricity network.

ACEN said the location of the battery is within the approved site boundary, with the additional land for the larger battery currently being used as laydown areas for Stage 1 construction works.

The area was chosen due to its proximity to the substation where it can connect to the electricity transmission network, according to the company.

ACEN Australia CEO Anton Rohner said the additional battery storage at New England Solar would play a critical role in securing energy supply across the state.

“The state’s ageing coal fired generators are due to close over the next 20 years; large battery energy storage systems like these are critical in replacing that capacity with on-demand energy,” Rohner said.

“The New England Solar battery storage can charge using excess power generated from solar and wind, and discharge that energy when required. It will be a reliable, cheaper, and greener form of energy generation for NSW,” he said.

ACEN Australia has more than one gigawatt (GW) capacity in construction, and more than eight GW capacity in the development pipeline.

Its renewable energy assets include solar, wind, battery, and pumped hydro and energy storage projects across Australia.

Overall, ACEN aims to be the largest listed renewables platform in Southeast Asia, with a goal of reaching 20 GW of renewables capacity by 2030.