Neoen plans 50% expansion of S Australia's Tesla Big Battery

French renewable energy company Neoen today confirmed it plans to lift by 50% the capacity of the Tesla Big Battery system at the site of its 315-MW Hornsdale wind farm in the state of South Australia.

The 100-MW/129-MWh lithium ion battery, officially known as the Hornsdale Power Reserve, will be expanded with an additional 50 MW/64.5 MWh of capacity by Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA). In its upgraded form, the facility will provide further power system reliability to the grid and serve as “an Australian-first large-scale demonstration” of the potential for providing inertia to the network through energy storage and thus contribute to enhancing grid stability.

The addition of the new Tesla batteries also supports South Australia’s goal for 100% renewable energy generation in the 2030s, Neoen said. It expects the expanded facility to be commissioned in the first half of next year.

“The expansion of Hornsdale Power Reserve is demonstrating the critical and multiple roles that batteries will play in the grid of the future,” said Louis de Sambucy, managing director Neoen Australia.

To finance the project, Neoen will get AUD 15 million (USD 10.2m/EUR 9.2m) in grant funding from the South Australian government, which has pledged to distribute AUD 3 million per year over a five-year term. The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has committed AUD 8 million in grant funding, as well, while debt financing will be provided by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC).

The French firm estimates that in its first year of operation, the Big Battery has brought more than AUD 50 million in cost savings to consumers. The system was installed back in 2017.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.680/EUR 0.614)

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