Neoen commences construction of Muchea Battery project in Western Australia

This will be the company’s first 6-hour-long-duration battery project.

Neoen has started construction of the 164 megawatt (MW) / 905 megawatt-hour (MWh) Muchea Battery in Western Australia.

In a statement, the company said Muchea is Neoen’s first 6-hour long-duration battery and is backed by the Australian Government’s Capacity Investment Scheme. It will consist of 252 Tesla Megapack 2XL units and will connect into Western Power’s existing Muchea substation in the South-West Interconnected System (SWIS).

Neoen has also started operating 341 MW / 1,363 MWh Collie Battery Stage 2 in the same state.

From 1 October, Collie Battery 2 starts delivering its 300 MW / 4-hour grid capacity service contract to the Australian Energy Market Operator. This 2-year contract helps address risks associated with the retirement of coal power plants, high penetration of rooftop solar and increasing energy demand in the state.

“Combined with Stage 1 (219 MW / 877 MWh), Collie is Australia’s largest battery in operation and the first to exceed 2 GWh of storage capacity. At 560 MW / 2,240 MWh, Collie Battery can charge and discharge the equivalent of 20% of the average demand in the SWIS,” Neoen said.

These developments have increased Neoen’s total storage capacity in Western Australia to 724 MW / 3,145 MWh, representing over $1b in investment in the state since 2022.