Australian super battery Waratah gets connection greenlight

The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has granted Generator Performance Standard (GPS) approval for the Waratah Super Battery, marking the first approval for such a large battery energy storage project. The super battery is anticipated to be 850MW/1,680MWh.

According to Akaysha Energy, which is developing the battery, GPS approval represents a pivotal milestone for any generation project in Australia, setting the performance standards that generators and storage projects must meet to ensure stability and reliability of the electrical grid.

Compliance with these standards helps prevent disruptions and ensures smooth integration into existing energy infrastructure.

The successful GPS approval also eliminates one of the most substantial technical barriers for the project, allowing it to participate in the growing energy storage market in Australia.

The Waratah Super Battery

According to Akaysha Energy, Waratah is understood to be the largest committed battery project in the southern hemisphere and most powerful battery in the world.

Located approximately 100km north of Sydney and approximately 25km south of the retiring Eraring coal-fired power station, the BESS will reside in a 138,000m2 site.

Akaysha will be responsible for the construction of a BESS that is capable of providing a guaranteed continuous active power capacity of at least 700MW and a guaranteed useable energy storage capacity of at least 1,400MWh.

By operating as part of a System Integrity Protection Scheme to increase the transmission capacity of the existing network, the BESS will allow more power to flow from existing generators to meet the needs of the families and businesses of New South Wales.

The physical size of the of BESS is anticipated to be 850MW/1680MWh, allowing Akaysha to trade the additional capacity in the electricity market to access additional revenue streams.

Some capacity will also be released at off-peak times of the day for trading.

Developing the battery project is a consortium led by Akaysha Energy of US-based Powin and Consolidated Power Projects Australia (CPP).

Powin will provide the battery hardware and software using the Centipede BESS platform and Stack OS control system. Powin’s wholly owned subsidiary, eks Energy, will provide its power conversion systems.

CPP was selected as the Engineering Procurement and Construction company responsible for all site works, BESS installation, and all electrical works including high voltage connection.

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The project is on track to be fully operational by August 2025.

Commenting in a release, Andrew Kingsmill, executive director of network planning & technical advisory at EnergyCo, said: “The approval of the Generator Performance Standard is a significant milestone because the project has passed the simulations needed to know that it can successfully connect to the grid later this year.”

Added Nick Carter, CEO of Akaysha Energy: “It’s been more than 12 months’ worth of hard effort by the team and AEMO and Transgrid and our consultants Aurecon on this.

“We appreciate the collaboration with eks Energy and Powin. Their commitment to providing local on-ground support in Australia, advanced technology and willingness to work closely with our interconnection partners was critical in securing GPS approval and achieving closure within the required timeframes.”

The approval for Waratah, which is declared a critical state significant infrastructure project, is also being hailed as a watershed in the energy market, paving the way for other ‘super batteries’ to come online.

“Connecting energy projects to the Australian grid poses unique challenges due to stringent interconnection standards resulting from a combination of an inherently weak electrical grid, strict performance requirements and high renewable energy penetration,” added Carter.

“The significance is that we now have a clear pathway to get the battery connected.”

Originally published on Power Engineering International.