RWE to build Australia’s first eight-hour battery

The German energy giant RWE has announced its investment decision to build Australia’s first eight-hour battery near Balranald, in NSW.

The 50 MW/400 MWh battery will be built next to RWE’s existing 249 MW Limondale solar farm. The storage system will connect to an existing 33 kV substation.

Tesla has been selected as the technology supplier, and Beon Energy Solutions as the delivery partner in charge of the civil, structural, electrical, and control works.

RWE’s eight-hour lithium-ion battery was the only successful project in New South Wales’ first long duration energy storage (LDES) tender process held by the NSW government last year. The Limondale battery has been awarded a Long-Term Energy Service Agreement, which has helped the developer secure financing.

“RWE’s investment decision and signing of supplier contracts for the Limondale BESS project is an exciting step forward in our commitment to the Australian renewables sector and support of New South Wales’ renewable energy ambitions,” said Katja Wünschel, the head of renewables for RWE in Europe and Australia.

Construction is scheduled to start in the second half of 2024, with commissioning planned for late 2025.

RWE expects to grow its global battery storage portfolio to 6 GW by 2030. It currently operates a battery fleet of more than 700 MW and has an additional 1.2 GW of battery storage projects under construction worldwide.

3 GW of renewable energy projects by 2030

In Australia alone, RWE plans to develop 3 GW of renewable energy projects by 2030.

Its Limondale battery will not be the only eight-hour battery project in Australia for long. The third firming infrastructure tender run by the NSW government late last year will bring online at least another two such projects.

Ark Energy will build a 275 MW/2,200 MWh battery project at Myrtle Creek in the north of NSW, while Lightsource bp will deliver the 49 MW/392 MWh Goulburn River battery in the upper Hunter Valley. All three eight-hour battery projects are being developed next to existing or proposed solar farms.