Risen Energy Australia granted ARENA funding for Bungama BESS project
Renewable energy project developer, Risen Energy Australia (REA) is pleased to announce it has been granted funding by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) to progress its Bungama battery energy storage system project (BESS) in South Australia.
The 200MW/400MWh BESS facility, which received developmental approval in 2021 and is currently going through grid connection approval, will be located adjacent to the 275/132 kV Bungama Substation near Port Pirie in South Australia.
Archie Chen, REA’s CEO, said: “This funding is a gamechanger for us as it will enable us to incorporate advanced inverter functionality that would otherwise not be considered”. He added, “the funding will also enable us to provide the best possible solution for the project and the learnings attained from Bungama will benefit similar BESS projects in our pipeline”.
Lena Li, Head of Project Development and Investment said: ‘It was a remarkable effort by Risen’s in-house team to progress this project and I am proud of their hard work and team effort’. Ms Li added that this funding would not have been possible without the efforts of Risen’s partners, including GHD, PSC, Hatch, Mazars, CBA, BOC and Infradebt.
Bungama BESS will play an important role in strengthening the South Australian energy network and will likely become the home for several other large generator / load connections.
Bungama will feature grid forming inverter technology with a new integration system. Risen believes that this new integration system will be successful and provide an additional solution option into the Australian market, which will eventually benefit players in the energy storage industry.
The project is expected to be operational by mid to end 2024. Risen Energy Australia has a goal of developing 3GW and delivering 1GW renewable projects by 2027.
ARENA backs eight big batteries to bolster grid
ARENA has announced $176 million in conditional funding to eight grid scale battery projects across Australia.
Funded under ARENA’s Large Scale Battery Storage Funding Round, each battery will be equipped with grid-forming inverter technology, allowing them to provide essential system stability services traditionally provided by synchronous generation such as coal and gas.
With a total project value of $2.7 billion and a capacity of 2.0 GW / 4.2 GWh these projects represent a tenfold increase in grid-forming electricity storage capacity currently operational in the National Electricity Market.
The developers and projects ARENA has selected for support are:
AGL: a new 250 MW / 500 MWh battery in Liddell, NSW.
Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV): a new 250 MW / 550 MWh battery in Gnarwarre, VIC.
Neoen: retrofitting the 300 MW / 450 MWh Victorian Big Battery in Moorabool, VIC to enable grid-forming capability.
Neoen: a new 200 MW / 400 MWh battery in Hopeland, QLD.
Neoen: a new 200 MW / 400 MWh battery in Blyth, SA.
Origin Energy: a new 300 MW / 900 MWh battery in Mortlake, VIC
Risen Energy Co., Ltd.: a new 200 MW / 400 MWh battery in Bungama, SA.
TagEnergy: a new 300 MW / 600 MWh battery in Mount Fox QLD.
More information here: ARENA backs eight grid scale batteries worth $2.7 billion – Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)
For further information, please contact:
Lorraine Khng
Head of Marketing, Risen Energy Australia