Vena Energy’s Tailem Bend BESS 3 in South Australia and EnergyAustralia and Banpu Energy Australia’s Wooreen BESS in Victoria have both entered the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) Market Management System (MMS).
This is according to Geoff Eldridge of GPE NEMLog, who tracks project data across Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM).
Both units, known in AEMO’s system as TB3B1 and WOORB1 respectively, entered the MMS on 15 September 2026. Eldridge noted that MMS registration is not the same as full commercial operation but marks a step that allows a unit to move into testing and commissioning ahead of normal market operation.
Tailem Bend BESS 3 is registered with an operating maximum of 204MW, a registered capacity of 263MW, and 408MWh of storage, giving it a two-hour storage duration and a ramp rate of 82MW per minute.
Try Premium for just $1
- Full premium access for the first month at only $1
- Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
- Cancel anytime during the trial period
Premium Benefits
- Expert industry analysis and interviews
- Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
- Exclusive event discounts
Or get the full Premium subscription right away
Or continue reading this article for free
Wooreen BESS is registered with an operating maximum of 350MW, a registered capacity of 491MW, and 1,400MWh of storage, giving it a 4-hour storage duration and a ramp rate of 140MW per minute.
Tailem Bend BESS 3 extends Vena Energy’s cluster of South Australian projects
Tailem Bend BESS 3 is located around 2.5km southeast of the town of Tailem Bend and approximately 89km east-southeast of Adelaide, connecting to the NEM through ElectraNet’s nearby Tailem Bend Substation. It sits alongside two existing Vena Energy assets at the same site.
Vena Energy, the renewable energy development arm of Singapore-headquartered Vena Group, began construction of the standalone project in December 2025, with commissioning scheduled for 2027. It is the developer’s third BESS project in Australia, following the 100MW/150MWh Wandoan South BESS in Queensland.
The project follows Vena Energy’s completion of a smaller battery at the same location. Vena added a 41.5MW battery to its existing 87MW solar plant at Tailem Bend in January 2025, completing what the company calls its Tailem Bend 2 Hybrid Project and lifting the combined grid output of its two co-located solar plants from 182MW to 223.5MW.
South Australia sources around 75% of its annual electricity demand from wind and solar, and is targeting 100% net renewable energy by the end of 2027.
Wooreen BESS advances toward 2027 as Yallourn’s replacement in the Latrobe Valley
Wooreen BESS is being developed at Hazelwood North in Victoria’s Latrobe Valley, adjacent to EnergyAustralia’s existing Jeeralang Power Station and approximately 138km east-southeast of Melbourne, placing it within a growing cluster of storage and network infrastructure across Gippsland.
EnergyAustralia, an Australian energy generator-retailer, reached financial close on the project in February 2025 and began construction days later, with the battery storage system designed to enter service before the retirement of its 1,450MW Yallourn coal-fired power station, scheduled for mid-2028.
In July 2025, EnergyAustralia sold a 50% share in the project to Thailand-based Banpu Public Company, trading in Australia as Banpu Energy Australia, in a deal worth in the region of AU$700 million (US$490 million).
Finnish marine and energy technology group Wärtsilä was contracted to supply the battery hardware, engineering, commissioning and a 15-year service agreement, using its Quantum High Energy units and GEMS Digital Energy Platform. Wärtsilä completed delivery and installation of all 1,038 Quantum units at the site in July 2026, with the system designed to operate in grid-forming mode to provide synthetic inertia as coal-fired generation retires from the Victorian grid.
Zenviron, a joint venture between engineering group Monadelphous and renewable energy developer ZEM Energy, was awarded the balance-of-plant contract for the project in February 2025, covering design, construction, installation and commissioning. Tilt Renewables is the project’s developer and commercial operations for Wooreen are targeted for 2027.
Never miss an Australian energy storage story. Sign up for our Australia newsletter and get the latest project announcements, policy updates and market analysis delivered directly to you.
