SKIP TO MAIN CONTENT

Firms meet SA premier on battery project

South Australian Premier Jay Weatherill will meet with the members of company developing a bid to build a massive battery in the state.

2 min read

Published

Source: AAP


Skip to article content

A group that wants to build one of the world's biggest batteries in South Australia is preparing to meet with Premier Jay Weatherill.

Representatives from SA-based energy storage company ZEN Energy and its US sister company Greensmith will speak with Mr Weatherill on Monday.

The companies will bid to jointly build a massive battery for storing renewable energy in SA, under the government's recently announced energy strategy.

The battery will have a capacity of about 100MW and is the first project to be financed through the government's $150 million renewable technology fund.

ZEN Energy chairman Ross Garnaut says the company and Greensmith are a "local-global partnership" with the ability to boost SA's power reliability and security.

News that makes sense

Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

"Greensmith is the recognised global leader in grid-scale battery storage while ZEN Energy has pioneered the deployment of energy storage technology in South Australia," he said in a statement on Monday.

Greensmith recently worked on a similar 95MW battery project in California and has been responsible for installing 40 per cent of America's battery capacity.

Expressions of interest from companies to build the battery close on Friday.

The SA government also announced on Sunday that expressions of interest to build a new state-owned gas-fired power station, another part of its $550 million energy plan, would open on Tuesday and close a fortnight later.

The 250 megawatt generator will be the first electricity infrastructure built and owned by the state government since the previous Liberal government privatised the state's power assets 18 years ago.


Get SBS News straight to your inbox

Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Follow SBS News

Download our apps

Listen to our podcasts

Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service

Stream now

Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world