Hazelwood Battery Energy Storage System
Coal-fired to battery-powered—this phrase encapsulates the historic significance of the Hazelwood Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in the Latrobe Valley of Victoria, Australia. Marking a new era in Australia’s energy transition, Hazelwood is the first retired coal-fired power station to host a battery storage system in Australia and represents a key moment in repurposing former thermal assets for renewable energy technologies.
The 150 MW/150 MWh BESS has been jointly funded and developed by ENGIE and Eku Energy. Fluence supplies, operates, and maintains the facility for the partnership, which will play a critical role in increasing renewable energy capacity in Victoria while delivering essential system services to the grid.
Images from the Hazelwood BESS site
At Eku, we take community engagement and benefits sharing seriously. We want to ensure that our Williamsdale BESS grants program can support a broad range of initiatives that can deliver long-lasting, positive impacts for surrounding communities.
Through ongoing community engagement, we have co-designed the following Investment Principles to guide the program design. We welcome applications that support or are in-line with the following:
[A] Employment and education: Initiatives that support educational or employment outcomes (e.g. literacy; numeracy; science, technology, engineering and maths).
[B] Social connectedness: Initiatives that support community connectedness, wellbeing and livability.
[C] Environmental: Initiatives that support or drive sustainability and environmental outcomes.
Eku Energy respectfully acknowledge the Gunaikurnai People, the Traditional Custodians of the land on which the Hazelwood BESS will store energy. We pay our respects to elders, past and present. We acknowledge and respect their culture, beliefs, contributions, and spiritual and historic connection with the land.
If you would like to contact a member of our team directly to ask a question or discuss matters about this project, please contact us below:
