Neoen concludes network connection works at Tesla Big Battery expansion

Work has been finalised on the network connection for Neoen’s upgraded 150-MW/194-MWh Hornsdale Power Reserve in South Australia, the French renewable energy company said.

The 100-MW/129-MWh lithium-ion battery, better known as the Tesla Big Battery system, is being expanded with an additional 50 MW/64.5 MWh of capacity by Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). The facility is located at the site of Neoen’s 315-MW Hornsdale wind farm.

After the completion of network connection works, the enlarged battery installation will “soon” provide extra reliability to the local power grid, providing support during periods of very low demand and increased risks of outages. This was announced by Neoen Australia’s managing director Louis de Sambucy in a LinkedIn post last week.

As Neoen said previously, the upgraded battery facility will serve as “an Australian-first large-scale demonstration” of the potential for providing inertia to the network through energy storage. The French firm is funding the expansion with grants from the South Australian government and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and debt from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

Earlier this month, Neoen and its partner Mondo Power Pty Ltd filed a joint planning application for an up to 600-MW battery storage project in Victoria

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