AGL has received approval from the Victorian Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning for the development of the proposed 200-megawatt, four-hour grid-scale battery at Loy Yang power station.
AGL chief operating officer Markus Brokhof said AGL welcomed the approval, which would now allow AGL to move forward with assessing the economics and viability of the project.
Brokhof continued: “As the largest ASX operator of renewables assets, a key focus is to invest in storage and firming capacity to ensure we continue to provide reliable and affordable electricity to households and businesses.
“Our generation sites provide rare and unique redevelopment opportunities as they are established sites with a surplus of land, road and rail access, transport facilities and storage infrastructure embedded in the environment.”
“As we continue on our pathway to net-zero by 2050, we will progress our plans to develop these sites into integrated industrial energy hubs, with the ‘Latrobe Hub’ set to create regional jobs and opportunities well into the future.”
The proposed Loy Yang grid-scale battery is part of AGL’s planned national roll-out of 850 megawatts of grid-scale batteries, with planning approval being sought for projects in Broken Hill and the Hunter in NSW.
Should AGL reach a final investment decision on the Loy Yang grid-scale battery, the project would be part of Accel Energy following AGL’s proposed demerger.
AGL recently broke ground at the Torrens Island power station in preparation for the construction of its $180 million, 250-megawatt grid-scale battery.
The Torrens Island battery will be the first of AGL’s national roll-out and is also a first step in the future Torrens Island energy hub, which will support renewable energy generation in South Australia.
Brokhof said low-emission firming technologies will play a leading role in driving Australia’s energy transition.
He continued: “As Australia’s largest energy generator, we understand the importance of enabling flexibility and ensuring reliability across the National Electricity Market as we continue to integrate renewable generation.
“We anticipate the Torrens Island energy hub will bring together various industry sectors and a combination of technologies to deliver South Australia’s energy future, and this battery is the first step toward that goal.
“With South Australia generating more power from renewable sources than any other state, this battery will further reinforce a reliable energy supply for households and businesses.”
AGL expects up to 50 local jobs will be created during construction, and the battery is planned to be fully operational by early 2023.
The battery will enable AGL to adapt to changing market conditions, with an initial one-hour duration that is capable of expanding to up to four-hours duration in the future.
South Australia’s Deputy Premier and Mining and Energy Minister Dan van Holst Pellekaan said AGL’s investment was yet another step on South Australia’s journey towards of net-100 per cent renewable energy generation by 2030 and the thousands of jobs that transition will generate.
He added: “The Marshall government fast-tracked the planning process for this important project to accelerate South Australia’s transition to cheaper, cleaner, more reliable energy.
“It’s great to see AGL investing in new storage assets to add further stability to our electricity grid.”
Earlier in 2021, AGL announced it had appointed technology group Wartsila to construct the Torrens Island battery.
AGL recently announced that its 50 megawatt battery in Broken Hill had achieved development consent and plans to construct a 150 MW battery at its Liddell power station as well as support grid-scale battery projects including Wandoan, Maoneng and Dalrymple.
Following AGL’s proposed demerger in 2022, the Torrens Island battery will be an asset of AGL Australia.
