RWE Renewables Europe & Australia, a subsidiary of German electric utility RWE, has won a competitive tender to build a 50 MW/400 MWh battery energy storage system in New South Wales, southeast Australia. In Balranald, New South Wales, the battery will be installed next to the 249 MW Limondale solar farm, which is owned by RWE. Limondale has 770 hectares and has been in operation since 2021. RWE expects to announce the project’s final investment decision by May 2024. Battery energy storage systems can store the surplus energy generated from renewable sources for use later on, when the sun does not shine or the wind does not blow.
This policy is supported by an auction schedule for additional renewable and storage capacity that will run through 2030. RWE is designing, constructing, and running energy storage systems in Europe, Australia, and the US. It operates utility-scale storage projects around the world with installed capacities of more than 900 MW/2.3 GWh and 300 MW/380 MWh. By 2030, it plans to construct more than 3 GW. The project produces enough energy to annually power 105,000 Australian homes with 872,000 solar panels.
In April 2023, RWE and Northland Power chose Hellenic Cables as the preferred provider for the cluster of four offshore wind farms. Nordseecluster would be erected in two parts, Nordseecluster A and B, with RWE and Northland owning 51 per cent and 49 per cent, respectively. Phase One has two wind farms with a combined capacity of 660 MW and is currently applying for permits.
