The project will combine 125MWdc of solar photovoltaic capacity with a 55MW BESS system.
Global Power Generation, a joint venture of Spanish energy utility firm Naturgy and the Kuwait Investment Authority, has acquired the Cunderdin hybrid solar project in Australia.
The Cunderdin project will combine approximately 125MWdc of solar photovoltaic (PV) capacity with a 55MW battery energy storage system (BESS) technology.
Located near Cunderdin in Western Australia, the hybrid facility will be developed by SBP and be linked to Western Australia’s South West Interconnected System (SWIS).
It is claimed to be the country’s largest direct current (DC) coupled solar PV and battery project.
In a statement, Naturgy said: “The integration of a BESS with a large-scale photovoltaic PV power plant will enable further flexibility in the operation, allowing the plant to also support the wholesale energy market in the SWIS during peak demand periods.
“The innovative configuration of the integrated DC-coupled BESS improves energy conversion efficiencies and contributes to drive down solar-plus-storage costs in comparison with the conventional alternating current (AC) coupled facilities.”
The project is expected to come online in the first quarter of 2024, with construction works at the site due to begin in the last quarter of this year.
With the acquisition of the hybrid PV-battery project, Naturgy has expanded its presence to the state of Western Australia.
The deal also supports the company’s objectives to have 2.2GW of installed capacity in the country by 2025.
Naturgy currently has projects across several other Australian states, including Victoria, New South Wales and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT).
In May this year, the company started construction of a 300MWdc solar PV facility in Texas with a $276m investment.
Scheduled to come online before the end of next year, the project is the first to be developed in a solar and energy storage portfolio that Naturgy bought from Hamel Renewables last year.
Source: power-technology
