Naturgy makes its debut in the Australian solar market with an investment of 160 million | companies

The Spanish energy Naturgy has chosen Australia to run your first Hybrid project of photovoltaic technology and battery storage. It is also about its debut in the solar market in that country, where it already has a presence through wind developments.

Plant cunderdinin Western Australia, will require an investment of 160 million for a capacity of 125 MW. The battery system, for its part, will reach up to 220 MWh. The works will begin this fall and the entry into operation is scheduled for the beginning of 2024.

The initiative in Australia will be carried out through Global Power Generation (GPG), which has acquired the project from Bred Power (SBP). The General Director of Renewables, New Businesses and Innovation at Naturgy, Jorge Barred, has highlighted through a statement “the bet is to advance in the transition and promote Naturgy’s leading role in it. We want to reach 60% of installed power from renewable sources in the coming years and projects like Cunderdin show that our will is firm. It is a ready-to-build project that meets the criteria for renewables in the medium and long term, and that represents a milestone that adds to our objective”.

The Cunderdin plant will be connected to the interconnected system of Southwest Australia (Western Australia’s South West Interconnected System, SWIS). The integration of a battery energy storage system with a large-scale photovoltaic plant will serve to support the Australian SWIS wholesale energy market during periods of peak energy demand in the country.

The subsidiary Global Power Generation, owned 25% by Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA), has 276 MW of installed capacity in operation in Australia with the Crookwell 2 (96 MW) and Berrybank 1 (180 MW) wind projects. And a further 109 MW at Berrybank 2 is nearing commissioning, due to be operational this year, along with a 10 MW/20MWh battery energy storage system in the Australian National Territory (ACT) state. Added to all this is a portfolio of 630 MW of wind projects that include power purchase agreements (PPAs) and Naturgy is also developing 417 MW of wind power in the State of Victoria.

The group that leads Francisco Reynes reaches 5 GW of installed renewable capacity and this morning highlighted its commitment to stable markets and projects in their initial phases.