Waroona’s set to buzz in 2027 with the Federal Government accepting tenders on new big batteries

Waroona is one of four WA communities powered up to house new big batteries, adding a combined 654MW of capacity to the State’s electricity grid by October 2027.

Last Thursday, Energy Minister Chris Bowen announced the Boddington Giga Battery, Merredin Big Battery, Muchea Battery and Waroona Renewable Energy Project were all successful in their bids under the Capacity Investment Scheme.

The combined batteries will supply WA’s grid with an extra 654MW of capacity, capable of discharging the equivalent of nearly 2600 megawatt hours of energy — enough to power more than 600,000 households for up to four hours, before being recharged the following day.

Mr Bowen said the Federal Government’s current trajectory has seen record investment into renewable energy with the battery announcement building on this.

“We’re seeing investors and developers outcompeting each other for the chance to deliver even more of the cheapest form of energy for Western Australia this decade,” he said.

The Waroona battery — headed by Frontier Energy — will have the smallest capacity of the four, holding 380 megawatt hours of energy alongside a dedicated solar farm.

However, Waroona’s project is only stage one of the energy company’s plans and only utilises just a third of Frontier’s 868ha landholding — a fraction of total long-term potential energy production.

The four projects are set to create hundreds of construction and operation jobs through their development and have a lasting positive impact on their regions.

Proponents will deliver $145 million in community benefits, $41.5m in benefits to First Nations groups, spend more than $712m on local content, and bring a $63.5m boost to local employment, which includes locally-based vocational education and training programs and commitments to employ local apprentices.

Assessment criteria included the project’s ability to reduce the wholesale cost of electricity, and boost reliability across the State’s wholesale electricity market.

On average about a third of the energy market already comes from e renewables, with a record breaking peak last year of more than 84 per cent.

The next WA tender for generation and storage is scheduled for mid-year.