SEC invests in one of the world’s biggest battery projects

The SEC is accelerating the renewable energy transition by investing in one of the world’s biggest battery projects – the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub (MREH).

The Hub will be comprised of three battery components totalling 600 megawatts in size and is being developed in partnership with renewable energy investor Equis Australia. Tesla will supply the batteries and Samsung will supply the remaining components of the storage system.

Once complete the Hub will deliver 1.6 gigawatt hours of energy storage, with potential to expand. That’s enough to power around 200,000 homes during peak evening consumption.

Construction of the facility is now underway and is also expected to create more than 155 jobs, including up to 14 apprentice and trainee roles. Completion is expected in late 2025.

We’re investing $245 million in the billion-dollar energy storage facility, a major milestone in our plans to deliver renewable, affordable and reliable energy for all Victorians.

The pioneer investment forms part of our strategy to invest an initial $1 billion towards building 4.5 GW of new power through renewable energy and storage projects to accelerate the energy transition.

The MREH will help firm up energy generated by our wind and solar projects - including through the Victorian Renewable Energy Target auctions (VRET 1 & 2) and the Bulgana Green Power Hub - to supply 100% renewable electricity to SEC customers, starting with the Victorian Government electricity requirements from 2025.

Our strategy also focuses on supporting the switch to all-electric households and building a renewable energy workforce.

SEC’s investment is pivotal to delivery of the project, enabling construction to begin. It has also enabled one of the project’s components to be upscaled from two to four-hour storage, which will provide extra power to meet Victoria’s demand.

When it comes online, the MREH will start storing wind and solar which will provide extra power to meet Victoria’s growing demand.

SEC assessed more than 100 Registrations of Interest for our pioneer investment and we will continue to build a pipeline of longer-term investment opportunities. All our investments will contribute to our objectives of accelerating the renewable energy transition and supplying renewable, affordable, reliable energy to Victorian households, businesses and industries.

Read the media release and information sheet (PDF, 1073.64 KB) for more information and stay tuned for updates.