Edify and Shell Energy have signed a A$3.2bn ($2.4bn) contract to build the Riverina Energy Storage System, a 100MW, two-hour battery facility.
The facility is designed to power schools, hospitals and government buildings across New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
As part of the ten-year contract awarded by the NSW government, Shell Energy and Edify will build the battery alongside the Darlington Point Solar Farm in Murrumbidgee Shire, Riverina.
Shell Energy has signed a long-term services agreement to access operational rights to a 60MW/120MWh partition of the battery.
Shell Energy CEO Greg Joiner said: “Shell Energy recognises that batteries have an important role to play in transitioning to and managing risk in a lower carbon energy future.
“This long-term services agreement is a model for how large energy users can access dispatchable power like battery storage, which complements renewables while contributing to a cleaner and more resilient power system.
“Shell Energy was pleased to select Edify as its battery energy storage partner in this collaborative approach to meeting the NSW government’s need for an innovative power solution.”
Edify will build and operate the battery by early 2023. It will be linked to TransGrid’s network at the Darlington Point Substation.
Once completed, the battery will add dispatchable electricity to the NSW market and address the power supply shortages related to the closure of the Liddell Power Station.
Edify chief executive John Cole said: “We are proud to be leading the advancement of batteries to shore up the renewable energy market and to increase the availability of clean, green, low-cost, dispatchable electricity.
“We are pleased to have reached this milestone with Shell Energy and the NSW government and look forward to continuing to work with them as we deliver the Riverina Energy Storage System into commercial operation.”
The new contract will start from next July, upon the expiry of existing contracts.