FRV to carry out its first hybrid Solar-Storage project in Australia

• FRV begins construction of Dalby Hybrid Power Plan, a 5 MWac power plant with 2.4 MWac of photovoltaic solar power generation and 2.5 MWac /5MWh of co-located battery storage in Queensland.

• FRV has well established experience in Australia, but the Dalby Hybrid Power Plant is its first hybrid project in the country and one of the first Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) projects in Queensland.

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV), part of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy and a global leading provider of sustainable energy solutions will develop its first 5 MWac Solar-Storage Hybrid Power Plant in Australia.

Located in the Dalby region of Queensland, the Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) facility will feature 2.4 MWac of solar photovoltaic (PV) generation panels and a 2.5 MWac/5 MWh energy storage system which, once completed, will be one of the first co-located PV and BESS system greenfield developments in Australia.

The plant’s output will be connected to Ergon’s distribution network, allowing the hybrid power plant to supply and take electricity from the grid and trade in the National Electricity Market.

The plant’s technical solution is designed to be operated as a predictable and dispatchable generation plant, to provide a reliable energy output. The system will have the ability to access the maximum number of markets and revenue streams, including arbitrage and FCAS services.

Carlo Frigerio, Managing Director of FRV Australia, stated:

“BESS are needed to support further investment in QLD renewables and help maintain system security and reliability. This project will be critical to Queensland’s future energy supply and security as renewable energy capacity increases, with storage supporting solar and wind-generated power to be supplied to the market when it is most needed. The inclusion of PV as part of the project shows the importance of integrating solar and batteries in order to deliver dispatchable power.

Carlo Frigerio

MD FRV Australia

Felipe Hernandez, Global Managing Director of FRV-X, added:

“FRV is already collaborating with governments, regulators, and partners around the world to lay the foundations for a new energy model. Energy storage plays a central and critical role to fully realise the power of renewable energy, and FRV acknowledges the value of this technology as a key element to achieve a decarbonised society”.

Felipe Hernández

MD Engineering and FRV-X

The Dalby project continues FRV’s global expansion in the utility-scale storage systems sector, and its aim to further grow its pipeline of energy storage capacity. An approach that is underpinned by two battery projects in the UK; Holes Bay in Dorset, a 7.5 MW/15 MWh battery plant that has been operating since June 2020, and Contego, a 34MW/68 MWh battery project in West Sussex, that once completed in 2021, will be one of the most advanced and innovative energy storage systems in the UK. In addition to this, FRV has developed an advanced pipeline of battery projects in different countries.

This project is FRV’s ninth project in Australia becoming part of a total of approximately 640MWdc owned projects’ portfolio. Only last year, FRV reached 3 financial closes in Australia alone clearly demonstrating its continuing strong commitment to grow and consolidate its unique portfolio of solar and storage assets in the country.

The Dalby Hybrid Facility is expected to create job opportunities during construction and operations and, in this sense, FRV requires all construction partners working on its solar farm developments to hire local contractors and utilize local suppliers wherever possible.

Expected to be operating at full capacity by early 2022, Dalby Hybrid Power Plant represents FRV’s first hybrid project announcement after the Company’s international rebranding, and moves the organization closer to its goal of leading the global energy transformation through continuous improvement and consolidation of sustainable, secure and affordable energy models in the communities in which it operates.