Collie will be the site of the latest big battery to be connected to the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), the electricity grid supplying Perth and more than one million homes and businesses between Geraldton and Esperance and east to Kalgoorlie.
The Collie Battery will directly create more than 120 construction jobs, as well as many new opportunities for suppliers in the Collie region.
The contract to build a 197MW battery was awarded to Neoen by the Australian Energy Market Operator following a competitive process initiated with the State Government through Energy Policy WA’s Coordinator of Energy.
The contract will deliver a battery sized at 219 MW / 877 MWh and consisting of 224 Tesla Megapack 2XL units.
The project, which Neoen originated in 2021, received development approval for a total of 1 GW / 4 GWh in December 2022.
The battery will be located near the town of Collie, on the country of the Wilman people of the Bibbulmun nation, in the South West region of Western Australia (WA). It will connect to Western Power’s Shotts Terminal substation, which is part of the South-West Interconnected System (SWIS), a separate network to the one on the eastern coast of Australia.
Neoen has provided notices to proceed to Tesla and construction contractor UGL (a member of the CIMIC Group) signalling the start of construction for Stage 1 of Collie Battery.
CIMIC Group’s UGL has been contracted by Neoen for the design, construction, testing and commissioning of the 33/330kV substation, the installation of the Tesla2 XL Megapacks and the associated balance of plant infrastructure. UGL’s scope also includes the replacement of an existing bridge and construction of an access track to the site.
Neoen’s Collie Battery will provide up to four hours of energy storage and will connect to Western Power’s substation which is part of the South-West Interconnected System (SWIS).
The long duration battery is expected to be operational by the summer of 2024/25, when it will be providing 197MW for up to four hours.
The new piece of energy infrastructure will be a significant boost for the security and reliability of the South-West’s electricity grid, especially during the evening peak periods.
The Neoen big battery is in addition to the massive new battery funded in the 2023-24 State Budget, which will be one of the biggest battery systems in the world, providing around 500 MW for up to four hours.
Neoen is one of the world’s leading producers of renewable energy. The Collie Battery will be its sixth big battery in Australia.
Energy Minister Bill Johnston said while the WA government is replacing its coal-fired energy capacity with renewable infrastructure through Synergy, it is also critical for the private sector to take up the opportunity of participating and benefitting from the state’s energy transition.
“Big batteries like this one will help smooth out the peaks and troughs in the South West Interconnected System by storing energy during times of low demand and releasing it into the grid in times of peak demand.
“It will complement Synergy’s new battery at Kwinana and the $2.3 billion investment announced in the recent State Budget for further battery storage capacity in the SWIS.”
