ACEN Australia, a unit of ACEN Corp. and Marubeni Asian Power Singapore signed an agreement for the joint development of battery energy storage systems in Australia with projected investments of around Au$250 million.
The 50-50 partnership involved a 200 megawatt/400 megawatt-hour BESS in New South Wales targeted for completion by 2025, with a potential for expansion.
The signing ceremony for the agreement took place at the Philippine Business Forum held in Melbourne on Monday and was presented to the President Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos Jr.
David Pollington, ACEN Australia managing director, said the agreement shows the collaborative efforts of Marubeni and ACEN to promote the sustainable supply of renewable energy in Australia.
“ACEN has a bold strategy to help Australia transition to a clean energy future, and we are excited by this partnership with Marubeni. Battery storage will play a critical role in bringing renewable energy projects to life and clean electricity for Australian homes and businesses,” Pollington said.
He said the agreement is another milestone for ACEN Australia’s inaugural project, New England Solar, which stands as a major contributor to the National Electricity Market (NEM).
“Once finished, it will be one of the nation’s largest co-located solar and battery energy storage facilities and enables energy to be stored and made available to the grid when it is needed,” Pollington said.
Moroo Shino, Marubeni Asian Power Singapore president and chief executive, believes the project will be successfully materialized “through the strength and cooperation of both companies.”
New England Solar is a 720-MW solar and battery project currently being built in stages near Uralla in the New South Wales (NSW) New England region.
Stage 1 of the solar facility with a capacity of 400 MW commenced generating clean, renewable electricity into NSW and Queensland in 2023.
Stage 2 will start construction this year and the ACEN-Marubeni agreement marks the initial stage of the battery of 200 MW.
The project is being delivered with the support of host landholders, First Nations, and the Uralla community.
Transgrid Group’s contestable business Lumea will connect the BESS to the grid, supporting a secure energy supply as the network transitions from aging coal fire power stations to new renewable generation and energy storage.
“The Transgrid Group, through our contestable division Lumea, is proud to work with ACEN Australia on this significant project. The team is excited to get on with the job of connecting the battery energy storage system to the electricity network – it’s a very big step forward in the energy transition and for Australia’s electricity consumers,” Transgrid chief executive Brett Redman.
ACEN Australia’s renewable platform represents more than 1,000 MW capacity of large-scale renewable energy generation under construction and in operation and more than 8,000 MW capacity in the development pipeline, with a portfolio including solar, wind, battery and pumped hydro projects across Australia.