Neoen SA (EPA:NEOEN) is seeking development approval for its massive Goyder South hybrid power project in South Australia that will incorporate wind, solar and battery storage capacity.
The French renewable power producer has submitted its development application to the Regional Council of Goyder, official documents show. On Wednesday, Neoen Australia Pty confirmed that the application has been released by the government for public exhibition and will be open for comments by September 18.
The over AUD-3-billion (USD 2.15bn/EUR 1.82bn) project envisages the phased installation of up to 1,200 MW of wind, 600 MW of solar and 900 MW/1,800 MWh of energy storage capacity, which will create a complex capable of producing around 4.8 TWh of electricity per year. It will be located south of Burra and north of Robertstown, where a new transmission link will provide a connection to the state grid. When it first unveiled plans for the project last year, the developer said that the delivery of the second and third stages will depend on the completion of the so-called SA-NSW interconnector.
Up to 163 turbines with a maximum hub height of 160 metres (525 ft) and blade lengths of up to 80 metres will be powering the wind section of the hybrid power plant. The solar portion, meanwhile, will contain an area accommodating 3,000 ha of photovoltaic (PV) panels. The lithium-ion battery facility will have a capacity of up to 900 MW/1,800 MWh and will deliver two hours of storage. Three substations, underground connection cabling and transmission lines are also planned.
According to Neoen, the “extremely large battery,” which will outstrip the 150-MW Tesla Big Battery at the site of its 315-MW Hornsdale wind farm in South Australia, will have the pivotal role of providing hedge contracts to consumers. “These contracts guarantee customers a fixed power price 24 hours a day, irrespective of regional spot price fluctuations,” it said, adding that the project would overcome the conventional concept that renewables are intermittent and unreliable.
The developer noted it is not yet possible to be certain about the scale of each stage as this depends on the size and type of demand from electricity consumers.
(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.718/EUR 0.605)
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Hornsdale Power Reserve. Image by: ARENA (www.arena.gov.au).
