Billion-dollar batteries: Victoria’s biggest energy storage project to be built in Portland

This just in: Western Victoria is set to host the state’s biggest-ever battery storage project, after the Victorian Government signed off on a $1.3 billion energy park in Portland.

Pacific Green’s Portland Energy Park will house four 250-megawatt battery “parks”, with capacity to power 345,000 homes during peak demand. 

The facility will also include a terminal station to connect into existing transmission lines.

🏃 The project was approved through the state’s Development Facilitation Program, expanded last year to fast-track renewable projects. 

🗣️ Energy Minister Lily D’Ambrosio said the Portland project will “soak up cheap renewable power during the day and deliver it when demand peaks – powering 345,000 homes and slashing energy bills across the state.”

🚧 Three hundred jobs are also said to be created during the construction phase, with 60 ongoing jobs once the energy park becomes operational. 

🔋 According to developer Pacific Green, the Portland Energy Park will span around 30 hectares of industrial-zoned land on Madeira Packet Road, neighbouring the Portland Aluminium Smelter and Water Treatment Plant. 

🏢 Designed to integrate with “existing electrical infrastructure”, the facility will comprise single-storey modular units about the size of a 20-foot shipping container, with all energy and associated infrastructure housed on-site.

⏱️ The battery has an initial lifespan of 20 years, and construction is set to begin in 2026.

The state government said Pacific Green was required to show the development will be “compliant with conditions”, regarding biodiversity impacts on the site, as well as bushfire safety, and noise, while also including upgrades to nearby roads in the proximity of construction works.

Image credit: Pacific Green