Battery milestone for SEC Renewable Energy Park
14 February 2025
As preconstruction activity begins at the SEC Renewable Energy Park – Horsham this week, the SEC has signed on a battery provider for the large-scale solar farm and renewable energy storage facility in Victoria’s west.
Sustainable energy storage solutions company Energy Vault will deliver the project’s 100-megawatt, two-hour battery energy storage system (BESS).
The BESS will be integrated with the project’s 119-megawatt solar farm, making it one of Australia’s first integrated solar and BESS projects with a single connection point.
“We’re looking forward to working with Energy Vault on the delivery and integration of the battery storage system at the SEC Renewable Energy Park – Horsham,” SEC CEO Chris Miller said.
“This project demonstrates SEC’s ongoing efforts to drive Victoria’s transition to renewables.”
The battery will be one of Victoria’s largest grid-forming batteries and support more renewables to come online. The BESS will firm up the electricity the solar farm generates and store this renewable energy to be deployed at times of peak demand.
The project will be one of Australia’s first 100 per cent publicly owned renewable energy projects and capable of generating around 242,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy a year – enough to power 51,000 homes. That’s around five times the number of households in Horsham.
Due to come online in 2027, the project will create around 246 jobs over the construction period, including 20 roles for apprentices, trainees, and cadets.
There will also be direct benefits for the local community, via a community benefits fund. The SEC will work with the community to invest $42,000 a year back into the local area during the project’s construction, and a further $70,000 every year once the project is operational.
The development comes as the SEC’s first investment project, the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub prepares to plug into Victoria’s electricity grid later this year. The 600-megawatt big battery in Plumpton will store enough renewable energy to power 200,000 homes during peak periods.
