Windlab’s Kennedy Energy Park in Australia Connected and Energised

The first export of electricity from the energy park is expected in mid-August after a compulsory “hold point zero” period to allow the network operator to conduct background power quality testing.

Kennedy Energy Park is the world’s first hybrid wind-solar-battery power plant, jointly developed and owned by Windlab and Eurus Energy Holdings. It is located near Hughenden in North Queensland and comprises 43 MW of wind turbines, 18 MW of solar panels and a 4 MWh battery.

“We are excited to reach this important milestone in the project” said Roger Price, Executive Chairman and CEO of WND. “Nearly all renewable generators in Australia have found grid connection challenging in the past 18 months. Being the first project to implement both a statcom and synchronous condenser in Ergon’s network has meant Kennedy is no exception. However, the persistence and technical capability of the WND team has paid off. We look forward to completing the registration and commissioning work over coming months as the project is placed into full service.”

Formal commercial operation is expected to start in the fourth quarter of 2019.