SEI partners with ACEnergy to deliver 270 MWh of distributed battery projects – pv magazine Australia

May 28, 2024 David Carroll

Sustainable Energy Infrastructure (SEI) said it has entered into a development agreement with ACEnergy to build, own and operate a portfolio of distributed battery energy storage systems in regional Australia in a multi-stage program that will deliver a total capacity of 135 MW/270 MWh.

SEI says the initial objective of the deal will be to acquire and construct seven “spade-ready” battery energy storage projects in the Victoria region, each with a capacity of approximately 5 MW/10 MWh.

In the second phase of the program, it is planned to deliver an additional 20 distributed battery energy storage systems with a total capacity of 100 MW / 200 MWh in Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales.

News of the agreement between SEI and ACEnergy comes after the latter announced last year that it had 10 distribution battery projects in “advanced stages” of development and another 10 units in the early planning stages.

ACEnergy said its distributed battery storage offering fills “a key gap between small home batteries and large-scale batteries, which is a key part of maximizing Australia’s rooftop solar, reducing energy prices and ensuring grid stability.”

The company said it selected locations where batteries can “work according to local grid demand,” reducing the load on the grid and ultimately increasing its capacity.

“The development of projects in distribution networks is the cornerstone of our business,” said ACEnergy Managing Director Raymond Wang. “We are confident that we will successfully complete these projects, which we have consistently done before.”

SEI director Saji Anantakrishnan said the addition of battery energy storage projects fits well into the company’s existing portfolio of renewable energy assets.

“The partnership between SEI and ACE is typical of our midstream infrastructure strategy, which focuses on building long-term, complementary partnerships with experienced industry partners to ensure strong value creation through an identified pipeline of growth opportunities,” he said.

The company, managed by global investment manager Patrizia on behalf of two Australian superannuation funds, owns and operates a portfolio of 22 generation and distributed assets across Australia.

SEI’s solar portfolio, which focuses on medium-sized solar farms operating in regional South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, currently exceeds 35MW, and its total capacity portfolio, which includes gas generation facilities, is close to 100MW.

The battery energy storage projects proposed by SEI and ACEnergy will be completed by ACLE Services as part of an end-to-end engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) project, with commissioning planned in phases by July 2025. ACLE will also provide operations and maintenance services for the projects covered by a long-term contract.

The battery technology will be provided by JinkoSolar, which has officially signed an agreement to supply ACLE with energy storage solutions in the form of 84 MWh batteries for seven facilities.

JinkoSolar said it will provide an integrated solution consisting of a 20-meter-long, liquid-cooled, containerized energy storage system combined with centralized PCS and control system solutions, enabling seamless integration to improve grid resiliency.