Last battery pack craned into place at five-hour storage project next to existing gas plant, in wind hotspot

Detailed summary

The last of the battery packs for a five-hour big battery being developed by EnergyAustralia has been craned into place, next to a gas-fired power station.

The last of the battery packs for Hallett Battery Energy Storage System in South Australia has been craned into place, at a site alongside the Hallett gas-fired power station in Canowie, 210 km north of Adelaide.

EnergyAustralia – the owner of the BESS, the adjoining gas plant and the land that hosts both assets – marked the “important milestone” on LinkedIn on Friday, with the battery expected to begin commercial operations in mid-2027.

The Hallett battery will initially be sized at 50 megawatts (MW) and 245 megawatt hours (MWh), making it a five-hour battery, although it has approval to add another 150 MW of capacity (and more storage) to the site.

Construction started on the project in late February, two weeks after the project reached financial close. At the time, EnergyAustralia’s head of trading and transition, David Nugent, said it had moved from concept to investment decision in…

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