ACEN Australia has secured approval from the New South Wales Government to build Australia’s biggest battery near Uralla in northern New South Wales.
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ACEN Australian will increase the size of its New England battery from 200MW/400MWh to a massive 1.4GW/2.8GWh.
The battery will be stationed next to ACEN’s 720MW New England Solar Farm—the first stage of which became operational in March. ACEN said the chosen area’s proximity to the substation allows for connection to the electricity transmission network.
The 720MW solar farm project is being developed in two stages and was approved by the NSW Government in 2020. It is one of Australia’s largest solar projects to be participating in the NEM, with Stage 1 requiring the installation of close to a million solar panels.
“An application to modify the development consent for the project has now been approved by the Department of Planning and Environment, which includes an increase to its battery energy storage capacity of 1.4GW/2.8GWh,” ACEN said in a statement.
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“The modification also includes some changes to Stage 2 of the solar project area, helping to optimise the project, and move it another step towards construction.”
