An additional 150-megawatt of energy storage capacity will be added to Victoria’s grid thanks to a new big battery located at the former coal-fired power station in Hazelwood, Gippsland.

This battery marks an important step forward in the transformation of this site from a former coal-fired power station to an active participant in Victoria’s renewable energy future.

Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio today launched Hazelwood Battery Energy Storage System (HBESS) – a collaboration between ENGIE, Eku Energy and Fluence. The Hazelwood battery has the capacity to power approximately 75,000 Victorian homes for one hour during the evening peak.

Projects like this are playing a key role in achieving Victoria’s energy storage targets of at least 2.6 gigawatts of energy storage capacity by 2030 and at least 6.3 gigawatts by 2035 as Victoria works towards 95 per cent renewable energy by 2035.

Victoria is already the home of Australia’s largest, utility-scale batteries, including the 300-megawatt Victorian Big Battery, the largest lithium-ion battery in the southern hemisphere.

Big batteries in the pipeline include:

• a 100-megawatt battery with grid forming inverters in Terang, funded through the Energy Innovation Fund
• a 125-megawatt lithium-ion big battery with grid forming inverters, funded by $119 million from the Renewable Energy Zone Fund
• four batteries totaling 365 megawatts as part of the Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET2) auction.

Victoria is leading the nation in neighbourhood-scale batteries, with the Victorian Budget 2023/24 investing $42.2 million to install 100 new neighbourhood batteries at targeted locations across Victoria – tripling the number of homes with access to a battery and providing crucial extra storage capacity for local communities.

At household level, the Solar Homes Program has already helped more than 13,800 Victorian households install their own batteries to maximise the benefits of rooftop solar.

To achieve the Labor Government’s ambitious emissions reduction target of net zero by 2045 Victoria is increasing its energy storage capacity, delivering Australia’s first offshore wind energy industry here in Gippsland and investing an initial $1 billion in the State Electricity Commission (SEC) to deliver 4.5 gigawatts of power.

Quotes attributable to Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio

“We’re leading the nation in our investment in battery and energy storage projects, from the biggest of big batteries to the smallest household units, which will all help us deliver more secure, affordable renewable energy.”

“Our nation leading energy storage targets are ensuring that Victoria continues to attract industry investment and collaboration opportunities like this.”

“The Latrobe Valley has been the home of Victoria’s energy generation for decades and new investment in technologies like energy storage this will help solidify its role in our renewable energy future.”