South Australia has cemented its position as a renewable energy leader after awarding contracts to six emerging BESS projects.
Tenders for long-duration capacity were awarded under the state’s Firm Energy Reliability Mechanism (FERM). The successful projects will add 517MW/4136MWh of dispatchable energy capacity, increasing South Australia’s large-scale battery storage from 1.1GW to 2.5GW and providing enough stored energy to power more than 300,000 average households for up to eight hours.
The projects were selected through a competitive tender process designed to secure long-duration energy storage and ensure the state maintains at least eight hours of continuous dispatchable energy capacity during unexpected supply shortfalls.
According to the South Australian Government, the additional battery capacity is equivalent to almost three-quarters of the state’s record peak electricity demand and represents more than four times the capacity of the world’s first grid-scale battery, the Hornsdale Power Reserve at Jamestown in SA’s Mid North.
Want more content like this? Subscribe to Energy and discover all you need to know about the energy transition.
The FERM scheme supports investment in long-duration firming assets by providing revenue certainty to project proponents, helping reduce reliance on infrequent high-price market events while strengthening system reliability as the energy transition accelerates.
Six projects were awarded FERM agreements:
- Brinkworth BESS (Akaysha Energy) – 250MW/1000MWh
- Dartmoor BESS (ZEBRE) – 144MW/576MWh
- Goyder Battery Stage 1 (Neoen Australia) – 200MW/800MWh
- Goyder Battery Stage 2 (Neoen Australia) – 200MW/800MWh
- Northern Battery (AMPYR Australia) – 270MW/1080MWh
- Tungkillo BESS (Iberdrola Australia) – 270MW/1080MWh
Under the agreements, successful proponents must be capable of continuously dispatching energy for up to eight hours when required.
The projects will be delivered in stages, with 375MW/3000MWh scheduled to be operational by November 2028 and the remaining 142MW/1136MWh by November 2029.
