Pacific Green plans battery storage park for Portland’s industrial zone

Renewable energy project company Pacific Green has proposed development of a 2.5 gigawatt hour grid-scale battery energy park in Portland, located near the Portland Aluminium smelter (pictured) and Portland Water Treatment Plant.

According to a statement from Pacific Green on Monday, it will develop approximately 30 hectares for the proposed energy park. The park would house four 250 megawatt battery energy parks, a 500/33 kilovolt collector, and a 500 kilovolt terminal station and grid connection to the existing 500 kilovolt transmission line. 

The project within the Portland industrial zone “will provide critical support for existing and proposed renewable energy projects within Victoria’s Southwest Renewable Energy Zone” and result in an estimated “3.8 per cent reduction in total wholesale energy costs for Victorian households”.

The price reduction would be a result of displacing more expensive gas generation by discharging during evening peak periods, while also avoiding approximately 66,900 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, it said.

The Portland Energy Park is in the regulatory approval process, with construction scheduled for the first half of 2025.

It follows the announcement by the company of a proposed 1.5 gigawatt hour battery project on the Limestone Coast, South Australia in November last year.

“We are thrilled to announce our second battery energy storage project in Australia,” said Joel Alexander, Pacific Green’s Managing Director for Australia. 

“The Portland Energy Park will significantly reduce Victoria’s wholesale market volatility and in turn lower prices, during the transition towards net-zero.”

Picture: credit ARENA