Construction of a 300MW battery energy storage system – BESS – at Origin’s Mortlake Power station is officially underway, with the project intended to be commissioned in late 2026.
The milestone was celebrated with a Welcome to Country and smoking ceremony to cleanse and ward off bad spirits from the site, led by Shane Harrison from the Eastern Maar Aboriginal Corporation, and attended by Origin’s project team and key project partners and contractors.
Origin Head of Development and Construction, Conal McCullough, said, “Mortlake Power Station is an ideal site for a large-scale battery being adjacent to the Moorabool to Heywood 500kV transmission line and sitting within Victoria’s South-West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).
“This means the Mortlake battery can utilise existing transmission infrastructure, and support both existing and new renewable energy generation in the area over the coming years.
“When complete, the Mortlake battery will soak up and store excess renewable energy generated during the day and dispatch this energy into the grid during peak demand periods, which typically occur during the early evening when renewable supply tends to decrease.
“It also has the potential help stabilise the electricity grid as the existing fleet of large coal generators retires.
“As we get set to kick off construction works on the battery within days, this marks a significant milestone for Origin, our contractor partners and the local community. The increase in workforce numbers and the supply of goods and services by local firms like McKinnons and Waremac will help provide an important boost to the local economy,” Mr McCollough said.
The commencement of construction also marks the beginning of a dedicated community investment fund that has been established to support initiatives that might deliver an enduring benefit to communities surrounding the battery project.
Origin announced the approval of construction of the large-scale battery at the Mortlake Power Station in January 2024, committing to an investment of approximately $400 million.
The Mortlake Power Station battery will have a capacity of 300MW, a dispatch duration of just over two hours (650MWh) and is expected to be commissioned late in 2026.
The project has been awarded conditional grant support from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) as part of its Large Scale Battery Storage Funding Round.
Mortlake Power Station is the largest gas-fired power station in Victoria with a generation capacity of 566MW.
Featured image: Origin employees and contractors gather for the commencement of construction on Mortlake BESS project. Image: Origin.
