Australian utility Origin Energy has started constructing its 300MW/650MW Mortlake battery energy storage system (BESS) in Victoria, Australia.
Situated at the Mortlake Power Station, Victoria’s largest gas-fired generator with a generating capacity of 566MW, the BESS is located adjacent to the Moorabool to Heywood 500kv transmission line, enabling it to connect to the National Electricity Market (NEM).
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The BESS’ location will allow it to leverage new clean energy generation facilities being developed in Victoria’s state-designated South-West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) V4 region, where it also sits. That will be one of six REZ developments planned in the state. Battery storage is expected to enable REZ developments to maximise their usable energy output.
Origin Energy confirmed its intention to go through with the project in early 2024 when it committed to investing AU$400 million (US$263.7 million) into it and announced the appointment of Fluence as BESS technology supplier. Fluence’s Nispera asset management software will optimise its market participation.
The Mortlake BESS is expected to be commissioned late in 2026. It will support further renewable energy project developments by charging during the day when renewable energy sources like wind and solar generation are plentiful and discharging into the grid during peak periods.
Earlier this year, the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) said it would allocate up to AU$24 million towards the total cost of the Mortlake BESS via its Large Scale Battery Storage Funding Round, which opened in 2022.
Origin to expand Eraring BESS project in New South Wales
Origin Energy has been busy in the Australian BESS market in recent months. In July, the organisation confirmed that it had approved the second stage of the Eraring battery energy storage project in New South Wales, which would see an additional 240MW/1030MWh grid-forming BESS built.
Adding this to the site’s existing 460MW/1073MWh 2-hour duration BESS currently under construction would bring the project’s cumulative capacity to over 2GWh.
Stage 1 of the Eraring project is expected to cost around AU$600 million and be delivered by the BESS arm of Finnish marine and energy technology company Wärtsilä, via an engineering equipment delivery (EED) contract with Origin. It is expected to come online at the end of 2025.
Origin has already signed equipment supply and construction agreements for Stage 2 of the project. Wärtsilä has again been employed to deliver the battery equipment, with Enerven Energy Infrastructure providing design and construction services. Construction will begin in early 2025 and be completed in Q1 of 2027.
