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Victoria’s State Electricity Commission has signed a 10-year offtake agreement covering the operating Glenrowan solar farm and a planned 102MW, four-hour battery at the site. Separately, Gentari says the first battery units have arrived at its Maryvale solar-and-storage project in New South Wales, which is scheduled to begin commercial operations in the second quarter of 2027.
Victoria’s State Electricity Commission has signed a 10-year offtake agreement covering the operating Glenrowan Solar Farm and a planned 102MW, four-hour battery at the site, giving the project a commercial foundation as it moves toward construction. In a separate development in New South Wales, Gentari Australia says the first battery units have arrived at its 172MW/409MWh Maryvale solar-and-storage project.
The SEC announced the Glenrowan agreement on Monday, November 2. The battery is planned alongside the 102MW solar farm in north-east Victoria, owned by Pacific Partnerships. The SEC already buys the solar plant’s output; the new agreement replaces that existing arrangement and adds the battery to the contracted supply.
The SEC says the storage project will help it use solar power generated during daylight hours and supply customers during periods of high demand. It supplies renewable energy backed by storage to more than 4,400 sites, according to the company, and says those supplies meet about 5% of Victoria’s total electricity demand. The figures describe the SEC’s current supply activity, not the expected output of Glenrowan’s planned battery.
Pacific Partnerships said Glenrowan has operated since May 2024 and was the first project backed by the second Victorian Renewable Energy Target auction to begin generating. The company’s general manager for energy, David Lovell, called the battery its first large-scale hybridisation of a solar project and said the SEC agreement provides a foundation for taking it to construction. The source material does not give a construction start date or expected commissioning date for the battery.
How Glenrowan Adds Firmed Solar
The agreement links an operating solar farm with planned storage under a long-term customer arrangement. A battery can store some electricity when solar production is available and discharge it later, which may help match renewable generation with demand at different times of day. The SEC said that this would strengthen its ability to serve government and commercial and industrial customers, particularly during high-demand periods.
For Pacific Partnerships, the deal is a step toward developing the battery, but it is not confirmation that construction has begun or that the project is operating. For Victoria, Glenrowan would add to a growing storage portfolio as the state pursues targets of at least 2.6GW of storage by 2030 and 6.3GW by 2035. The project’s contribution to those targets depends on it proceeding and entering service.
The Maryvale update offers a different marker of progress: physical equipment has started arriving at a project already under development. Gentari says the project will combine a 172MW/409MWh battery with 243MWp of solar generation. Delivery is progress, but it does not by itself establish that installation, testing or commissioning is complete.
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Two Projects at Different Stages
Glenrowan’s solar farm was one of six winning projects in Victoria’s second renewable energy target auction, whose results were announced in October 2022. At that time, it was reported as the only winning project in the auction without battery storage. The SEC’s new agreement adds a planned battery to the existing solar site; its four-hour duration means the stated 102MW power capacity corresponds to a planned 408MWh of storage capacity if operated at full output for four hours.
The SEC has other storage investments. It co-developed the 600MW/1.6GWh Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub and contributed AU$245 million in equity, according to the report. It also owns the 100MW/200MWh SEC Renewable Energy Park in Horsham, where full operation is expected in 2027. These projects form part of the company’s wider renewable energy and storage activity.
Maryvale is about 37 kilometres southeast of Dubbo, in the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone. It has a long-term energy service agreement from the fourth tender under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap. Gentari says 122 battery units are planned. The project’s reported delivery partners include EPC contractor PCL Construction and battery supplier CATL; the system is described as lithium iron phosphate technology. Commercial operations are scheduled for the second quarter of 2027, according to earlier reporting cited in the source.
“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.”
— Chris Miller, SEC chief executive
Construction and Delivery Dates
The announcement does not specify when construction of the Glenrowan battery will begin, when it is expected to enter service, or the full terms of the 10-year offtake. The agreement is described as a foundation for taking the project to construction, so the report does not establish that construction is underway or that final investment and commissioning milestones have been reached.
For Maryvale, Gentari’s update confirms arrival of the first units, not the delivery of all 122 planned units or completion of installation. The available information does not provide a detailed delivery or commissioning schedule beyond the previously reported target of commercial operations in the second quarter of 2027. No output, revenue or customer-supply results from either battery are available because both projects remain planned or under development.
Milestones Before Operation
At Glenrowan, the next reported milestones are the steps required to take the battery from its offtake agreement toward construction. Pacific Partnerships and the SEC have not provided a construction timetable or operational date in the available announcement. Further project updates would be needed to confirm those dates and whether the planned capacity or configuration changes.
At Maryvale, equipment deliveries are expected to continue as the project advances toward installation and commissioning. Its stated target is commercial operation in the second quarter of 2027. The project’s progress will be clearer as additional units arrive and the developers report on construction, testing and readiness to export electricity.
Key Questions
What did the SEC agree to at Glenrowan?
The SEC signed a 10-year offtake agreement covering Glenrowan Solar Farm and a planned 102MW battery with four hours of storage. The deal replaces the SEC’s existing arrangement to buy the solar farm’s output and adds the battery.
Is the Glenrowan battery under construction?
The report does not say construction has begun. Pacific Partnerships described the SEC agreement as a foundation for taking the planned battery to construction, but no start date was provided.
What does four-hour battery duration mean for Glenrowan?
The planned battery has a power capacity of 102MW and a stated duration of four hours. At full output for that period, that equates to 408MWh of energy storage capacity; the announcement does not provide further operating details.
What has arrived at the Maryvale project?
Gentari Australia said the first battery units had arrived. The project plans to install 122 units for a 172MW/409MWh battery, paired with 243MWp of solar generation; the update does not say all units have been delivered.
When is Maryvale expected to begin operating?
Earlier reporting cited in the source gives a target of the second quarter of 2027 for commercial operations. The latest update confirms initial equipment delivery, not that the project has entered service.
Source: energy-storage.news
