The 25-MW/50-MWh Tesla powerpack battery at the site of the 50-MW Gannawarra solar park in Victoria was officially put on stream last week, creating Australia’s largest operational solar-plus-storage complex.
The so-called Gannnawarra Energy Storage System (GESS) is owned by Edify Energy and Wirsol Energy Ltd, part of Germany’s Wircon. The facility is already feeding electricity to the state’s power grid, a government statement says.
The battery storage system, being among the largest of its kind in the world, is capable of storing electricity to power 16,000 homes for two hours during peak demand periods. It will be storing electricity produced by the Gannawarra solar farm, which was connected to the grid in April 2018.
The storage project is one of two large-scale batteries that the Victorian government supported with AUD 25 million (USD 17.2m/EUR 15.3m) through its Energy Storage Initiative.
“By investing in renewable energy and storage technology, we are continuing to modernise our electricity grid, strengthen our energy security and deliver real action on climate change,” said Lily D’Ambrosio, Victoria’s minister for energy, environment and climate change said.