West Australia to invest $3 billion on wind power and battery storage

• 11 months ago (2023-05-11)
• David Flin

Australasia 51 Storage 37 Transmission 181 Wind 239

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The West Australia government will spend nearly $3 billion on a renewable battery storage system and wind generation as part of a major overhaul of its energy network as it prepares for the retirement of its coal-fired power plants.

This will fund construction of a 500 MW battery energy storage system in the town of Collie is the southern part of West Australia, the system due for completion by the end of 2025. The system will provide 500 MW for up to four hours.

In addition, funding for a 200 MW battery in Kwinana, also in the south of West Australia, will be provided.

Another $370 million will be spent on new wind farm expansion at King Rocks and potentially another at Warradarge Wind Farm near Eneabba. These projects are expected to add an extra 210 MW to the grid.

This follows a day after Bill Johnston, Energy Minister of West Australia, announced an expansion to the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), with over 4000 km of new transmission lines over the next 20 years. Johnston said that the current system was too small to accommodate an expected tripling in demand.