Energy storage integrator Energy Vault has inked a new partnership with Enervest Group to supply a 1GWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in New South Wales, Australia.
The BESS will be deployed at Stoney Creek, to the west of Port Macquarie, and provide grid reliability services to the National Electricity Market (NEM), facilitating the greater uptake of renewable energy generation technologies.
As part of the agreement, the companies said they are now finalising the development and grid application approvals to bring the project to full Financial Investment Decision (FID).
Energy Vault, which also provides a proprietary gravity energy storage technology, will build the BESS using its X-Vault integration platform and its UL9540 and AS3000 certified B-VAULT product. The organisation will also utilise its Vault-OS Energy Management System to control, manage and optimise the BESS operations.
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Robert Piconi, chairman of the Board and CEO of Energy Vault, hailed the company’s growing energy storage portfolio in Australia, adding that the company is focused on “large-scale and financially attractive projects to enhance grid resiliency”. In 2022, the company was selected to provide the BESS at Victoria’s 330MW Meadow Creek solar PV plant.
Renewable energy developer Acen Australia appointed Energy Vault earlier this year to provide a 200MW/400MWh BESS for its New England project in New South Wales. This would also be co-located alongside a 720MW solar PV power plant.
From a global perspective, Energy Vault has recently commissioned several projects, including a BESS in Texas and its first gravity storage project in China. It also revealed a number of new form factors of its gravity storage tech earlier this year, including one for use in skyscrapers in partnership with world-leading architecture consultancy SOM.
The company received a written notice from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in September that its common stock price had fallen below the US$1.00 threshold required for continued listing.
NYSE gave Energy Vault six months to regain compliance, and the company gave an update earlier this month on how a strategic growth plan it announced at an investor day five months ago was progressing. As of 4pm yesterday, its common stock was trading at US$1.90.
Commenting on the new partnership, Ross Warby, CEO of Enervest said it is considered a “cornerstone to accelerated quality project development”.
“We look forward to consolidating further partnerships with other key stakeholders including the Narrabri local and indigenous community, and the successful delivery of the project,” Warby added.
