The head of Lightsource bp in Australia has hailed a “new phase” in the global power sector after announcing the start of construction of a major new solar and battery hybrid project that will help power one of the country’s biggest energy consumers.
The Lower Wonga hybrid project near Gympie in Queensland combines 380 megawatts (MWdc) of solar and 281 MW and 843 megawatt hours (MWh) of battery storage, making it one of the largest solar-battery hybrids in the country.
Lightsource has already begun construction of one of the first solar-battery hybrids, the 49 MW/562 MWh, long-duration DC-coupled battery energy storage system that will integrate with its 585 MWdc Goulburn River solar farm near Merriwa, New South Wales.But the significant of Lower Wonga, along with the 600 MW (720 MWdc) and 2,400 MWh Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap solar and battery hybrids currently being built by Edify Energy – is their ability to power giant energy users.
They will supply Rio Tinto’s giant Boyne Island smelter and associated refineries in Gladstone – and Lightsource bp says it represents a blueprint for the way industrial users think about energy.
“The global power sector is entering a new phase,” says Adam Pegg, the chief operating officer for Asia-Pacific at Lightsource bp said.
