Tesla Megapacks will help expand the Collie Battery into a 560 MW/2,240 kWh system–the biggest in Australia.
Neoen recently won the contract to triple the size of the Collie Battery. The French renewable energy and storage developer is teaming up with Tesla and UGL to expand the Collie Battery.
The first stage of expansion has already started, with construction underway to grow the Collie Battery to 219 MW/877 MWh. In the second stage, Neoen will add 341 MW/1,363 MWh to the battery.
By the end of construction, Neoen’s Collie Battery will be 560 MW/2,240 MWh, making it bigger than Synergy’s 500 MW/2,000 MWh battery. Synergy’s battery is still under construction a few miles away from Collie.
Neoen’s Collie Battery will charge and discharge 20% of the average demand into Western Australia’s main grid or the South West Interconnected System. Stage 2 is contracted to provide 300 MW of storage capacity for 4 hours of discharging during evening peak hours.
Collie is a coal town, but its coal generators are expected to shut down within the next five years. The battery’s expansion aims to help Collie transition from coal power to renewable energy.
“This is intended to address the risks AEMO has identified related to the retirement of coal power plants, high penetration of rooftop solar, and increasing energy demand in Western Australia,” said Neoen.
Tesla believes the energy storage business will continue to grow and expects it to grow faster than its car business. Tesla Megapack deployments reached an all-time high in Q1 2024, and the company believes it will increase over the next few quarters and years.