Construction halfway done at Neoen's Victorian Big Battery

French renewable power producer Neoen SA (EPA:NEOEN) has reached the halfway mark in the construction of its 300 MW/450 MWh Victorian Big Battery in Australia.

Neoen Australia’s managing director Louis de Sambucy announced the milestone in a LinkedIn post on Wednesday, saying the project is now midway through construction. A separate post by Victorian transmission company AusNet Services states that both transformers that will connect the battery to the grid have been successfully energised.

Being installed near the Moorabool Terminal Station, just outside Geelong, the Big battery is scheduled to go online in the 2021-2022 summer period. Touted as one of the largest facilities of its kind globally, it will outstrip Neoen’s 150 MW/194 MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia. Again Tesla technology will be deployed but the larger project will use the 3-MW Tesla Megapacks, rather than the smaller Powerpacks.

Neoen reached financial close on the Victorian Big Battery project in February. A grid services contract is in place with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) for around 250 MW of the new system’s capacity.

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