SEI teams with ACEnergy to deliver 270 MWh of distributed battery projects

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 across regional Australia as part of a multi-stage program that will deliver a combined capacity of 135 MW / 270 MWh.

SEI said the initial focus of the agreement will be the acquisition and construction of seven “shovel ready” battery energy storage projects in regional Victoria, each with a capacity of approximately 5 MW / 10 MWh.

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

The news of the agreement between SEI and ACEnergy comes after the latter announced last year that it had 10 distribution battery projects in the “advanced stage” of development, and a further 10 units in the early stages of planning.

ACEnergy said its distributed battery energy storage portfolio fills a “crucial gap between small household batteries and large utility scale batteries, which is a critical component to maximising Australia’s rooftop solar, pushing down power prices and providing stability to the grid.”

The company said it had selected locations where its batteries can “work in concert with local grid demand,” reducing network stresses and ultimately increasing network capacity.

“Developing projects in distribution networks has been a cornerstone of our operations,” ACEnergy Managing Director Raymond Wang said. “We are confident in successfully delivering these projects, as we have consistently done before.”

SEI Director Saji Anantakrishnan said the addition of the battery energy storage projects is a strong fit with the company’s existing renewable energy asset portfolio.

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

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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 energy assets across Australia.

SEI’s PV portfolio, which focuses on mid-scale solar farms in operation across regional South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales, now exceeds 35 MW with its total generation portfolio, including gas generation facilities, close to 100 MW.

The battery energy storage projects proposed by SEI and ACEnergy will be constructed by ACLE Services on a full-wrap engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) basis with commissioning planned progressively to July 2025. ACLE will also provide operations and maintenance services to the projects under a long-term contract.

The battery technology will be provided by JinkoSolar which said it has officially inked a contract to provide ACLE with 84 MWh of battery energy storage solutions for the seven facilities.

JinkoSolar said it will provide an integrated solution that includes its 20ft liquid-cooled containerised battery energy storage system, paired with centralised PCS solutions and control system, enabling seamless integration to improve the grid strength.