Pacific Green Achieves Planning Consent for its Limestone Coast, South Australia, 1.5GWh Battery Energy Parks

Melbourne / 17 July, 2024 / Pacific Green, a global battery energy storage company, has achieved planning consent from the South Australian Government for its first two grid-scale battery energy parks in the Limestone Coast region of South Australia. 

The Limestone Coast Energy Park assets will consist of a 0.5GW / 1.5 GWh battery energy storage system developed and constructed in two phases over the next 36 months. Once operational they will significantly strengthen the region’s grid stability. 

As part of the approval process and to minimise local impacts, Pacific Green engaged with numerous independent specialists to assess a wide range of environmental, technical and heritage aspects as well as undertaking targeted stakeholder and community consultation. Construction of the energy parks will commence towards the end of this year, with the first phase expected to be operational in the second half of 2026.

Pacific Green is committed to working with local suppliers and with a local workforce throughout the construction phase, wherever possible. The company has launched a supplier portal and will host a local supplier networking morning in the coming weeks. Interested parties are encouraged to visit: www.pacificgreen.com/aus/community/supplier for more information. 

The Limestone Coast Energy Parks mark the first set of assets of an 8.5GWh development pipeline of battery energy parks Pacific Green is rolling out throughout Australia. Leveraging its significant experience building out battery energy parks in the UK and Europe, the company is aiming to be one of Australia’s leading developers, and to help accelerate the country’s transition to renewables by building a multi-gigawatt platform nationwide. 

Tom Koutsantonis, Minister for Energy and Mining, Government of South Australia commented: “It's encouraging to see more private sector investment in energy storage. An increase in storage will provide greater capacity at peak times, extending the availability of electricity generated by cheap renewables. It's also particularly pleasing that Pacific Green has chosen the South East of South Australia for its project - greater diversity of storage locations will strengthen our security of supply and reliability.”

Joel Alexander, Managing Director & CEO, Pacific Green Australia commented: “This is a major milestone for the Limestone Coast Energy Park assets, and we are pleased that the South Australian Government has recognised the rigorous assessment and community consultation work we have undertaken to date. We look forward to re-engaging with the local community to maximise the tangible economic benefits of the Limestone Coast Energy Parks and to ensure funding and local contracting opportunities are open to all relevant groups. This is a positive and exciting start to an exceptional pipeline of Australian projects to come.”

Scott Poulter, Chairman & Group CEO, Pacific Green commented: “We are very pleased to begin our first development at Limestone Coast in South Australia. With so much local and Government support, this milestone announcement will be one of many to come over the next years as we build out our 8.5GWh pipeline, across Australia.”

Poulter added: “Australia is witnessing one of the world’s fastest growth renewable energy markets, so it is critical that battery energy storage grows at the same pace to support the grid network’s expansion of renewable generation.”