TRINA Solar, the company behind a proposed battery energy storage system in Dederang, is intending to set up a community benefit fund should their project go ahead, the company’s head of development said last week.

Speaking on Alpine FM, Mr Flores said “the fund will be allocated in annual basis and will be distributed based on the needs of the community".

He said they may also make compensation agreements with the installation’s neighbours following attempts to mitigate impacts of the project.

“If there is any remaining impact on the adjacent neighbours during the construction or during operation, we will contact them individually and we are open to reach a neighbour agreement or any kind of compensation agreement with them,” he said.

Mr Flores was featured in an interview last Wednesday on ‘The Pale Blue Dot’, a show on renewable energy and environmental issues presented by Mount Beauty locals, where he answered several questions on the proposal.

Trina Solar proposes to develop, build and operate a BESS approximately three kilometres north-east of Dederang, with a total capacity of 1000 megawatt hours.

It is the second BESS installation mooted for Dederang, with another by Mint Renewables proposed adjacent to the Dederang terminal station.

According to Mr Flores, both companies are working on creating community benefit plans and Trina Solar would like to ensure “resources are used in the most effective ways and we don’t overlap”.

Mr Flores said the Trina Solar site will include batteries, an on-site substation, transformer, inverter and internal roads.

When asked about the site’s location, he said compared to major solar farms in the North East, the proposed BESS is quite small and strategically close to the Dederang terminal station.

"Those solar farms take up 100 or even 1000 hectares and also faced strong opposition at the beginning," he said.

“We believe that this project has some advantage with respect to this kind of development because it's much smaller in size - we are talking about 10, maximum 15 hectares.

“It will be placed behind an existing substation and several transmission lines."

He also said they intend for vegetation screening around the entire installation.

According to Mr Flores, the main purpose of the proposed BESS will be grid stabilisation – absorbing power during times of excess energy production and supplying the grid when power demand is greater.

Trina Solar expects the installation to operate for around 20 years, after which the company may decommission the site or retrofit the equipment to keep it running, Mr Flores said.

“The equipment is designed to operate [for] 20 years, plus as well, that is in conjunction with the energy needs of Victoria and Australia during that period,” he said.

“We calculate everything to match the demand and also the energy needs of Victoria with the life expectancy of the equipment.”

Mr Flores said the batteries will include a fire suppression system within each battery container and the entire installation will have water storage for a fire external to the batteries.

Responding to a query about Trina Solar’s Chinese ownership, Mr Flores said all of their team is working in Australia and their company is ”one of the most bankable solar module manufacturers in the world”.

“We are really well-known in the industry,” he said.

“I think that definitely the experience and the resources of Trina worldwide in Australia will be a big advantage for the project.”