LONDON, UK: GSEO, a London-listed company focused on the energy infrastructure for the global transition to net zero, has announced that it has completed the construction of its first hybrid solar and battery plant in Australia.

The plant, located in South Australia, consists of a 2 hours 4.95MW battery energy storage system (BESS) co-located with an existing 17MW solar PV site. The BESS will provide additional renewable energy and support grid stability by offering energy arbitrage and frequency stability services.

The project is part of GSEO’s Australian energy transition programme, which involves the acquisition and development of five solar PV sites with a total capacity of 75MW and co-located batteries with a total capacity of 25MW.

GSEO said the project was one of the first hybrid renewable energy plants in Australia and a key milestone in its programme. It said it expected to complete the construction of the co-located battery for the second solar site in South Australia soon, as well as three more solar sites with co-located batteries in New South Wales by Q3 2023.

GSEO, which is managed by Victory Hill Capital Partners, said its shareholders would benefit from NAV growth and a progressive income stream from its portfolio of energy infrastructure assets. The company targets a total and unlevered NAV return of 10%, net of fees, and a progressive annual dividend per share, covered 1.3x, paid quarterly. The company said its operational assets had over 90% of contracted revenues and only 2% of leverage at the asset level.

Richard Lum, Co-CIO of Victory Hill Capital Partners, said: “GSEO’s first co-located battery site at the South Australia solar farm marks another key milestone for the company. The complexity of managing the grid and ensuring stability when there is already such a high penetration of intermittent solar power generation in Australia is a real challenge. Its demands can only be faced with greater energy storage that will help provide smooth availability of power from renewable sources. Improving stability is also important to avoid curtailment of renewable energy.”

VH Global acquires 198MW Mascarenhas Hydro Electric Facility in Brazil

VH Global Sustainable Energy Opportunities acquires three solar PV sites in Australia