Origin Energy has officially commenced construction of a massive battery in western Victoria.
The energy storage project, which is being built on the site of the decommissioned Mortlake Power Station, will cost $400 million and boast an output capacity of 300 megawatts (MW) and be able to deliver up to 650 megawatts-hour (MWh) of energy.
“Mortlake Power Station is an ideal site for a large-scale battery being adjacent to the Moorabool to Heywood 500kV transmission line and sitting within Victoria’s South-West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ),” Origin’s Head of Development and Construction Conal McCullough said.
“This means the Mortlake battery can utilise existing transmission infrastructure, and support both existing and new renewable energy generation in the area over the coming years.
“When complete, the Mortlake battery will soak up and store excess renewable energy generated during the day and dispatch this energy into the grid during peak demand periods, which typically occur during the early evening when renewable supply tends to decrease.”
McCollough added that it also has the potential to help stabilise the electricity grid as the existing fleet of large coal generators retires.
“As we get set to kick off construction works on the battery within days, this marks a significant milestone for Origin, our contractor partners and the local community. The increase in workforce numbers and the supply of goods and services by local firms like McKinnons and Waremac will help provide an important boost to the local economy,” he said.
During the initial earthworks phase, around 40 direct jobs will be created.
This will ramp up to approximately 90 additional direct roles during the main construction and installation stages.
The project is also expected to generate numerous indirect employment opportunities and provide a boost for local businesses supporting construction activities like accommodation, catering, transport, equipment hire and materials supply.
Mortlake project will be one of the largest batteries in Australia upon completion.
At full 300MW output, the battery can provide continuous power for just over two hours.
However, by operating at lower outputs like 150MW, it can sustain that level of generation for over four hours, highlighting its flexibility.
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