State utility backs "first hybridisation" with updated 10-year contract that adds battery storage to solar

Plans to add a four-hour big battery to an operational solar farm in Victoria’s north-east have been underwritten by state government-owned utility the SEC, through an extension of an existing offtake deal to take in the project’s “hybridisation” with energy storage.

The 130 megawatt (MW) Glenrowan solar farm, developed by Cimic Group company Pacific Partnerships, was signed up to a 10-year power purchase agreement through the state Labor government’s VRET auction scheme – and started delivering on that deal in May 2024, when it was began operations.

The State Electricity Commission (SEC) said on Monday that it has rebooted the 10-year offtake deal, replacing the existing power purchase agreement (PPA) to add the 102 MW and up to four-hour battery energy storage system (BESS) that is approved for installation at the site.

SEC chief Chris Miller says the new deal will add “significant storage capacity” to the public utility’s portfolio of assets, which it uses to supply renewable electricity to more than 4,400 sites across Victoria, or roughly 5 per cent of the state’s total electricity demand.

“Energy storage is critical to ensuring our customers have access to affordable, reliable electricity when they need it,” Miller said in a statement on Monday.

“This agreement will allow us to make better use of the solar energy generated during the day and strengthen our ability to supply customers during periods of high demand.”

The SEC aims to underwrite 4.5 gigawatts (GW) of new renewable energy generation and storage by 2035, and its first move towards that target was a 2023 co-investment with GreenPoint Energy (formerly Equis) in the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub (MREH), a 600 megawatt (MW) battery made up of Tesla Megapacks and offering between two and four hours of storage duration.

Earlier this year, speaking at the Australian Energy Week 2026 conference in Melbourne in June, Miller sung the praises of the MREH’s contribution to pushing down wholesale power prices in the morning and evening peaks, and stopping midday prices from “scooting” into negative territory.

“This particular asset is right in the heart of Victoria’s high voltage network … at the apex of the high voltage lines, and we knew that the hub would … actually make an important contribution to strengthening the grid, relieving system stress, reducing curtailment risk for existing assets, and improving dispatch flexibility,” Miller said.

“And because it’s located where it is, it’s actually next to, or adjacent to, three [renewable energy zones] in Victoria, and what it does is unlock capacity for more renewables to build out those REZs.”

Since then, the SEC has, in September, also made a $43 million investment for a minority stake in the Baranduda Electrical Energy Reserve, a 400 MW battery with 1.86 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of storage proposed for near Wodonga on the NSW border.

The Glenrowan BESS, which is permitted to offer up to four hours of energy storage, at a capacity of 102 MW, is expected to proceed to construction following financial close sometime next year.

Pacific Partnerships general manager of energy., David Lovell, said the company values the support from the state utility as it undertakes its “first large-scale BESS hybridisation.”

“We value our long-term and successful partnership with the SEC, which builds on the success of our solar farm being the first of those selected for VRET 2 support to start generating renewable energy for Victoria,” said Pacific Partnerships general manager of energy, David Lovell.

“Our agreement with SEC provides an important foundation for progressing the battery towards construction and delivering future investment and employment opportunities in Victoria’s north-east.”