Renewable energy developer Maoneng has received grid connection approval on its 240MW/480MWh Mornington Peninsula battery energy storage system (BESS) in the Australian state of Victoria.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has given Maoneng grid connection assessment approval to connect the standalone BESS to the Tyabb substation in the southern part of the state, operated by listed energy company AusNet.
The project received development approval in January, as reported by Energy-Storage.news, and should be completed in early 2024. It will cost around AU$190 million (US$133 million).
It will primarily provide load shifting capabilities to the local grid, drawing and storing energy during off-peak periods and dispatching when demand is high. It was recently revealed that energy trading had shot up to 49% of revenues for BESS projects in Australia in Q1 2022, from 24% in the same quarter last year.
“The Mornington BESS is really coming together. We now have the assessment approval as well as the development approval, for an asset that will support the Victorian Government’s objective of improving regional electricity reliability,” said Maoneng co-founder and CEO Morris Zhou.
The state of Victoria has become something of a hub for energy storage recently, including Australia’s largest battery that came online in December 2021, while Maoneng has been one of the most active in developing large-scale projects across the country.
In October it got development approval for a 450MWh BESS in South Australia and more recently proposed a huge 1,600MWh BESS in New South Wales.
Federation acquires majority of Riverina BESS project
The Mornington approval comes a few weeks after Federation Asset Management acquired a majority interest in three BESS projects totalling 300MWh from Edify energy.
The projects come under the umbrella name of Riverina Battery Projects. They are 60MW/120MWh Riverina Energy Storage System 1, 65MW/130MWh Riverina Energy Storage System 2 and the 25MW/50MWh Darlington Point Energy Storage System, also all in New South Wales.
They will all use Tesla’s Megapack system and are due to be completed towards the end of 2023 or early 2024. Edify will manage the construction and commissioning of the BESS project and will act as asset manager throughout its operational life.
Shell Energy, part of the oil and gas major, signed a long-term services agreement for operational rights to Riverina Energy Storage System 1 in May last year to help service its long-term retail contract with the New South Wales government.
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