The nation’s energy transition has reached a new milestone with an eight-hour-duration battery energy storage system (BESS) now eligible to begin commissioning and testing ahead of commercial operation.
he Australian arm of German energy utility RWE has confirmed the 50 MW/400 MWh Limondale BESS, near Balranald in southwest New South Wales (NSW), is registered with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
RWE said the BESS, located next to its existing, 249 MW Limondale Solar Farm, stands as the longest-duration grid-scale battery operating in the country. Very few lithium-ion chemsitry batteries exist at this duration worldwide, with longer durations often the realm of vanadium redox flow batteries.
The system, comprising 144 Tesla Megapacks, has a capacity of more than 50 MW and 400 MWh, allowing it to dispatch at full power for eight hours.
The successful registration of the project with the AEMO Market Management System marks the transition from construction into hold-point testing, with the system expected to be fully commissioned by the end of this year.
RWE Renewables Australia Chief Executive Officer Daniel Bolton said the milestone is a big step forward for clean energy in Australia.
“The registration of the Limondale BESS marks a defining moment for long-duration battery storage in Australia,” he said.
“Battery storage is a key enabler of the energy transition. With projects like Limondale BESS, RWE is helping to unlock the full value of renewable generation by ensuring energy is available when it’s needed most.”
RWE said once fully operational, the Limondale BESS, supported by a long-term energy service agreement under NSW’s first long-duration storage tender, will play a critical role in supporting the state’s renewable energy transition.
“Once fully operational, the Limondale BESS will store excess renewable energy generated during the day and dispatch it into the grid when demand is high, improving grid stability and enabling greater use of renewables in the energy mix,” it said.
Battery energy storage projects feature prominently in RWE’s global portfolio. The company currently operates more than 1.2 GW of battery storage systems worldwide.
Australia is one of the company’s focus markets with RWE saying it is developing a portfolio of battery storage, solar, and wind projects across the country. These include the 1 GW Theodore Wind Farm in Queensland, that recently received development approval and is now working through the federal Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act approvals process.
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