Proposals that pave the way for a battery storage facility of up to 20MWh to be built alongside a solar farm in Western Australia have taken a step forward.
Australian firm Carnegie Clean Energy has been given the go-ahead to negotiate a lease to build the battery and a solar plant of up to 100MW at the site, 26km southwest of Kalgoorlie.
According to The West Australian, Carnegie will deploy a lithium-ion battery system for the project, which would shore up flagging power supplies to the state’s Eastern Goldfields region.
Carnegie could not be contacted for technical details of the project by BBB. However, the company said in an Australian Securities Exchange announcement it would work with the Western Australian land development agency, LandCorp, to secure the lease for the 250-hectare site— after receiving approval in principle for the project from the Western Australian Department of Jobs, Tourism, Science and Innovation.
Carnegie said development of the proposed Mungari Solar Farm was conditional “on reaching suitable lease arrangements with the state’s Department of Planning, Lands and Heritage— and the results of a feasibility study on which it is consulting with state government-owned utility Western Power concerning grid connection.
BBB reported in March 2017 that Carnegie would develop a 10MW battery-ready solar power station in Northam, Western Australia.