Home Property Australia NT Government requests tenders for construction of what could be the world s second largest battery

NT Government requests tenders for construction of what could be the world s second largest battery

  • February 21, 2018

NT Government requests tenders for construction of what could be the world’s second largest battery 

Given the Northern Territory’s wealth of sunshine, it has often been questioned why solar generated energy has such a minor presence in the Territory’s generation mix. The NT Government has set its sights on changing that fact, having issued, early this month, a request for tender to construct a large scale battery to improve stability of the Darwin-Katherine power network. The battery is just one of multiple initiatives by the Government to achieve its target of % renewable energy by 2030.

The battery would operate by storing energy generated by renewable energy sources and, as reported by the ABC News, would be relied on during periods where capacity from grid connected solar plants is lower than usual, such as on cloudy days. 

The NT Government has called for a battery between 25-45MW with storage of 30 minutes, which could result in it being the second biggest battery in the world (after Tesla’s 100MW battery installed last year in South Australia).

Jeremy Schultz, Partner at Finlaysons*, is positive about the NT Government’s recent initiatives.

“The Territory is an ideal location for a roll-out of new generation technologies, particularly those based on solar and storage. Finlaysons supports these initiatives through, amongst other avenues, unique corporate memberships and leadership positions in the Clean Energy Council and the Australian Institute of Energy.

The Firm, using its key partners and practitioners in its Adelaide and Darwin offices has been involved in a number of very positive generation projects within the Northern Territory recently. The Government’s commitment to renewable energy presents exciting opportunities for industry players to commercially benefit from supplying Territorians with clean energy. With technology advancing rapidly, challenges previously associated with renewable energy (particularly around energy security) are being overcome.”

Expressions of interest closed on 22 January 2018 with the following entities remaining in the running:

  • Alstom Grid Australia
  • Ampcontrol SWG
  • Balance BGC Joint Venture
  • Consolidated Power Projects Australia
  • Decon Technologies
  • Doosan Grid Tech
  • ElectraNet
  • Energy Made Clean
  • Enerven
  • Enzen
  • Infigen
  • JNC
  • Kokam
  • Mitsui & Co (Australia)
  • Tesla
  • UGL Engineering; and
  • Vector Energy Solutions 

*Finlaysons is a corporate commercial law firm with offices in Adelaide and Darwin. Its specialist energy practice is headed by Jeremy Schultz (who is the SA Chair of the Clean Energy Council) and also consists of Andrew Dyda (Partner) Martin Kelly (Partner) Gavin Cragg (Partner) Kyra Reznikov (Special Counsel) Alicia Jennison (Lawyer) and David Vincent (Lawyer). Doyle’s Guide to Australian Legal Profession has recognised Finlaysons as a ‘first tier’ SA Energy and Resources firm and ‘recommended’ Australian Energy and Resources firm.