Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy announced this week that it has been awarded the contract to build what it is calling a “pioneering” 194 megawatt (MW) onshore wind farm in the south of the country with a combined battery energy storage system.
The Bulgana Green Energy Hub project will be built in the southern Australian state of Victoria, in the country town of Stawell, and will comprise a 194 MW wind farm as well as a 20 MW/34MW-hour (MWh) lithium-ion battery. Set to be developed by renewable energy independent power producer Neoen, Siemens Gamesa will provide all engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) efforts which are set to begin immediately, with completion and commissioning expected by August of 2019.
The project is expected to generate 750,000 MWh of clean, renewable electricity each year, the equivalent to taking 230,000 cars off the road or planting 1.2 million trees, and will produce enough electricity to supply the equivalent of approximately 130,000 homes.
The Bulgana Green Energy Hub has also already secured two Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), one with the State Government of Victoria over 15 years and another with Australian agribusiness Nectar Farms for 10 years. In addition, Nectar Farms will receive the electricity stored in the Energy Hub’s battery system during low wind periods.
Siemens Gamesa’s new contract follows on from over 300 MW already installed across Australia, and is the fourth EPC contract in the country.
Source: cleantechnica.com
