Collie home to WA’s largest state‍-‍owned battery

Collie in Western Australia now has the state’s largest state-owned battery, according to a government statement.

Located opposite the Collie Power Station, CBESS features 500 MW of storage and is capable of 2,400 MWh of output, which the government says is enough to power 785,000 homes for more than four hours and making it one of the largest batteries in Australia.

The WA government has invested more than $1.6 billion in the system through government electricity supplier Synergy. It is the third grid-scale battery developed by the WA Government in just over three years and is part of the state’s plan to exit state-owned coal by 2030 and bring on large-scale renewable generation and storage that it says will put downward pressure on prices.

“Collie has played a vital role in powering Western Australia for decades, and under my government, it will continue to do so,” said Premier Roger Cook.

“Synergy's Collie battery will capture wind and solar generation and use it to power homes when needed,” said Energy and Decarbonisation Minister Amber-Jade Sanderson. “Renewable generation and storage backed by gas is the least-cost energy mix for households and businesses and will put downward pressure on prices as we exit state-owned coal fired power by 2030.”

Image credit: iStock.com/SebastYin