The biggest battery in the southern hemisphere is now operating in the Australian state of Victoria. The 300 MW/450 MWh Tesla lithium-ion battery energy storage system will help modernize the state’s electricity grid, support new renewable energy capacity and improve the reliability of power supply in the face of increasingly hot summers.

The facility, developed and operated by renewable energy specialist Neoen of France, reserves 80% of its capacity to allow the energy market operator to increase the power flow through the Victoria-New South Wales Interconnector. This means Victoria has access to more power when it is most needed and can deal with challenges in the transmission system.

The facility includes 210 Tesla Megapacks. Source: Neoen

The Victorian Big Battery will charge during the day when renewable energy is cheap and abundant and then dispatch that energy when needed and can tap into its reserves to power over one million Victorian homes for half an hour.

[See also: Big battery going up down under]

Construction has been completed in under a year. The project faced a late stage setback when two Tesla Megapacks of the 210 on site were destroyed by fire, just as the system was about to go into final testing before connection to the National Electricity Market in July 2021.