AGL has lodged a planning application with the Victorian Minister for Planning and the Department of Environment, Water, Land and Planning for a 200 megawatt (MW), four-hour duration grid-scale battery at its Loy Yang Power Station in the Latrobe Valley.
Loy Yang is Victoria’s largest power station and includes four 500+ MW turbo generators which were brought into service between 1984 and 1988. Upgrades through major maintenance programs and plant enhancements have taken generation capability from 2000 MW in the year 2000, to over 2200 MW today.
AGL’s Chief Operating Officer, Markus Brokhof, said batteries will be an important part of the technology mix needed to deliver Australia’s energy needs in the decades ahead.
“This project will play a critical role in transforming the reliability of renewables in Victoria, providing essential firming capacity and storage,” he said.
The new project forms a part of AGL’s commitment to leading Australia’s energy transition which includes the development of 850MW of grid-scale batteries by FY24.
“It is through low emission firming technologies like batteries that we can create sustainable energy for our customers as well as deliver on our Climate Statement commitments which include net-zero emissions by 2050,” Mr Brokhof commented.
“Since acquiring Loy Yang A in 2012, we’ve been committed to supporting the community and this battery is yet another part of AGL’s future in the region.”
AGL has made commitments for the Loy Yang power station to operate until 2048, making it the last coal asset for the company to close ahead of its coal exit in 2050. While some analysts have projected the closure of the power station could be sooner, AGL has opposed it.
In addition to the proposed battery at Loy Yang, AGL is also developing a 250MW battery at its Torrens Island power station, a 150MW battery at its Liddell power station and a 50MW battery in Broken Hill as well as supporting grid-scale battery projects including Wandoan, Maoneng and Dalrymple.