Renewable energy and storage developers Atmos Renewables and Nomad Energy look to have gained planning approval for a new solar and battery hybrid project in the Western Australian wheatbelt town of Merredin, right next door to a standalone battery that they are currently building.
The $335 million Ngaangk Boodja battery and solar farm will consist of a 158 megawatt (DC) solar farm and a 642 megawatt-hour (MWh) DC-coupled battery, capable of exporting up to 100 MW for more than six hours.
The project has been recommended for approval by a state planning panel, which will meet this Thursday to discuss the project. It is expected to begin construction in 2027.
The two companies are currently building the 100 MW/400 MWh Merredin battery, also located close to the existing substation and the long established 132 MW Merredin solar farm.
Atmos and Nomad say the new project will only take up half the space of the Merredin solar farm – presumably because of the greater power of solar modules these days – and will require between 240,000 to 260,000 solar panels and between 120 to 130 battery modules.
The Ngaangk Boodja project (the name means Sun Country in the Noongar language of the South West of Western Australia) is located about 7.5 kilometres south-west of Merredin.
Construction of the NBBSF is expected to take between 18 to 24 months, and will employ approximately 200 people at its peak.
The W.A. grid currently features the country’s first large scale solar and battery hybrid project at Cunderdin, although a number of similar projects are in development in the state’s main grid, including two that won contracts under the recent Capacity Investment Scheme tender.
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Joshua S Hill
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.
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