We are building Victoria’s renewable energy future and investing in critical battery storage technology. This strengthens the grid and stores cheaper, cleaner renewable energy for when it's needed most.
Minister for Energy and Resources Lily D’Ambrosio visited the site of Fotowatio Renewable Ventures’ Terang Battery Energy Storage System in southwest Victoria on 1 October.
The project includes a 100 megawatt/200 megawatt-hour battery and grid forming inverters, made possible through a $7 million investment as part of Round 2 of our Energy Innovation Fund.
It will be supporting southwest Victorian homes, businesses, hospitals and schools from 2026.
The technology
The Terang battery is in a strong and strategic part of the grid and will soak up local renewable energy, support lower bills for southwest Victorians and boost economic development.
The project will include 38 inverters and 48 battery containers and create up to 150 jobs during construction.
Grid forming inverters use voltage and frequency control technology to manage the supply and demand of electricity flowing through the network. This keeps it performing reliably. This technology is critical as more renewable energy is connected to the grid.
Storage
Victoria is already the home of big batteries. It has 537 megawatts of operational battery storage capacity currently in operation. That's more than any other state. Every gigawatt of battery storage built allows three gigawatts of renewable energy to be connected to the grid.
This project will help meet Victoria’s demand for storage, as well as our target of at least 2.6 gigawatts of energy storage capacity by 2030 and 6.3 gigawatts by 2035.
Victoria is transitioning to 95 per cent renewable energy generation by 2035. With large amounts of solar and wind coming online, large-scale storage is essential. It stores the renewable energy from these new projects, to further drive down bills for households.
Energy Innovation Fund
The Energy Innovation Fund supports the commercialisation of innovative, emerging renewable energy technologies in Victoria, required to meet the net-zero emissions by 2045 target.
The fund is being delivered in multiple rounds. Round 1 was dedicated to offshore wind. Round 2 to any renewable technology type that can support Victoria’s net-zero emissions by 2045 target.
The Energy Innovation Fund has invested $38.2 million across four projects under Round 2. These will create up to 200 construction jobs, 20 ongoing jobs, and unlock more than $160 million of commercial investment.
Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) Australia has appointed Canadian Solar's e-STORAGE for construction of the Terang battery project to begin early next year. FRV Australia will also award site maintenance contracts to local businesses.
Page last updated: 02/10/24