Neoen’s Battery Storage Surge: 200MW to 270MW!

1. Neoen Expands Battery Storage in Queensland: Powering the Future

Neoen, a French company, is growing its battery storage project in Queensland, Australia. They are making it 35% bigger. After this, the Western Downs project will reach 270MW/540MWh. It can supply power for two hours.

The project is at Neoen’s Western Downs solar site. At first, it was planned to be 200MW/400MWh. But Neoen thought about it. Queensland needs more battery storage and grid services. So, they made the project bigger. This will help switch to cleaner energy faster. Neoen has two battery storage sites running in Australia. They are also building three more.

Neoen said, “With bigger energy storage, this project will help Queensland switch to cleaner energy faster.” The project will also give services to Queensland’s grid. This includes making sure renewable energy is stable and controlling the frequency.

Paul Simshauser, the CEO of Powerlink in Queensland, said the bigger project will help keep the grid safe.

This bigger project will make more people in Australia invest in big battery storage. They see how important storage is for a steady power supply. Now, Australia’s grid relies more and more on wind and solar power.

2. The Rise of Battery Storage: 28% Growth Yearly in Australia

Australia is leading in the world’s battery storage market. They’ve started projects that are more than 40GW.

Last week, Kashish Shah, a company analyst, said this. He said Australia is a top place for battery storage. This is because they can make a lot of money from it. The national and state governments are also helping with money.

Battery prices are getting lower. This helps with solar power research. Some say by 2032, Australia’s battery prices will drop by over 40%. This means the whole system will cost about 18% less. But now, Australia’s battery storage costs 30% to 40% more than China’s cheapest ones.

Every year, from now until 2032, Australia’s battery storage will grow 28%. By 2028, renewable energy and storage will reduce the use of coal and gas. This will make more battery storage projects.

But Shah says there’s a problem. It’s hard and costly to connect to the right place in the power grid. Shah thinks making a power station costs about 12% to 13% of the total spend.

Shah also said this: “Australia’s battery costs are higher than other Asia-Pacific countries. This is a challenge.”