Minister for the SEC Lily d’Ambrosio (second from left) and Premier Jacinta Allen (third from left) turn the first ceremonial sods for the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub, Photo: X/Twitter.
Work has commenced on an ambitious renewable energy project which will be capable of storing sufficient energy to power 200,000 homes during peak periods.
Premier Jacinta Allan and Minister for the State Electricity Commission Lily D’Ambrosio turned the first ceremonial sod on the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub near Melton on 30 November. The Hub will be a $245 million investment from the new State Electricity Commission’s (SEC) $1 billion budget to build 4.5 gigawatts of new renewable energy generation and storage projects.
The Hub will be comprised of three battery components totalling 600 megawatts in size capable of providing 1.6 gigawatt hours of energy storage. It will store excess rooftop solar and surplus energy from the grid, and is being developed in partnership with renewable energy investor Equis Australia.
The construction phase is expected to generate 155 jobs, and it is expected to be operational by 2025.
Victoria plans to transition to 95 per cent renewable energy generation by 2035, and will do this by solar and wind projects coming online. It says large-scale storage capacity is essential for storing the renewable energy from these new projects.
The project will also help firm up energy generated by the SEC’s wind and solar projects, including the Victorian Renewable Energy Target auction (VRET) 1 and 2, and Bulgana Green Power Hub contracts.
Premier Allan said: “We’re building critical energy projects under the SEC – investing in our grid so household bills go down for every Victorian with cheaper and more reliable renewable energy across the state.”
Minister D’Ambrosio added, “the investment is a huge step forward in increasing Victoria’s renewable storage capacity – which is critical to meeting our nation leading targets of 95 per cent renewable energy generation by 2035”.
Equis Managing Director David Russell said Equis was excited to partner with Victoria’s SEC to develop the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub.
“Without this partnership, this project would not be going ahead at this scale and capacity today,” he said.
Concept art of how the completed Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub will look. Image: Equis.
