Vena Energy to Begin Work on 100 MW Australian Battery Project

Vena Energy Australia has announced that it will soon begin construction of Queensland’s largest grid-scale battery near Wandoan in the Western Downs

Renewable power producer Vena Energy Australia, which is a subsidiary of Singapore-based Vena Energy has announced that it will soon begin construction of Queensland’s largest grid-scale battery near Wandoan in the Western Downs, Australia.

Vena Energy’s Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) will have an initial capacity of 100 megawatts (MW) and store 150 megawatt-hours (MWh) of energy, which could power up to 57,000 average homes annually.

At a signing ceremony hosted by the Minister for Natural Resources, Mines & Energy, Dr. Anthony Lynham, Vena Energy chief executive Nitin Apte said the USD 120 million BESS project represented a major milestone in the continuing modernisation of Queensland’s energy supply.

“The BESS represents Queensland’s accelerating transition to a cleaner future and has the potential to utilise solar renewable energy from existing generation,” Apte said. “The project will encourage a positive investment environment for future projects as well as encourage broader adoption of renewable energy in Queensland and in Australia.”

The firm will build, own and maintain the BESS while leading Australian energy retailer AGL will have full operational dispatch rights under a 15–year agreement between the two companies.

AGL CEO Brett Redman said the agreement was consistent with AGL’s strategy of developing and/or contracting flexible storage and generation to support the transition from coal generation to renewables. “The battery will enable AGL to leverage excess solar generation in Queensland and provide capacity when the Coopers Gap Wind Farm and other renewable power sources are not generating,” he said.

Head of Vena Energy Australia Anil Nangia said the BESS project was the first construction milestone of the company’s Wandoan South Project, approved to generate up to 1000 MW of solar electricity and 450 MW of energy storage, to be developed across several stages. “Vena Energy is also advancing plans for a USD 650 million solar project at the site, as part of the Wandoan South Project,” he said.

PC: Vena Energy/Instagram