Battery developer Akaysha Energy has penned a long-term offtake agreement with commodities trading company Guvnor Group for its 205MW/410MWh Brendale battery energy storage system (BESS) in Queensland, Australia.
Today (21 February), the deal was confirmed to be a battery revenue swap agreement, a type of risk-hedging offtake product similarly employed by fellow developer Eku Energy for its 500MWh Williamsdale BESS in the Australian Capital Territory.
Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis
- Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
- In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
- Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
- Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual
Or continue reading this article for free
This will help provide revenue certainty for the Brendale BESS while allowing BlackRock-backed Akaysha Energy to optimise operations and respond to market signals. The developer confirmed that it is exploring similar deals for its Japanese BESS assets with Guvnor Group.
It is worth noting that Akaysha Energy has an offtake agreement in place with state-owned NSW Energy Corporation (EnergyCo) to provide 700MW/1,400MWh of grid stability services from the Waratah Super Battery under the Australian System Integrity Protection Scheme (SIPS). A similar 12-year, 200MW virtual tolling deal had been secured for its 1,660MWh Orana BESS in New South Wales with EnergyAustralia.
Akaysha Energy said in July 2024 that this offtake agreement with EnergyAustralia was pivotal in securing financing for the Orana BESS. Eleven banks had agreed to lend AU$650 million (US$440.58 million) for the project.
The banks are a mix of Australian and overseas lenders, including Australia’s ANZ, CBA and Westpac, and BNP, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, DBS, ING, Mizhuo, Rabobank, Siemens Financial Services via Siemens Bank and SMBC from abroad.
In July 2023, Akaysha completed what was its first battery revenue swap agreement with Re2 Capital for its 150MW Ulinda Park BESS in Queensland’s Western Downs.
Akaysha said that the offtake agreements demonstrate the economic viability of large-scale batteries and that they can deliver appropriate returns through wholesale market pricing, which will further accelerate the deployment of energy storage infrastructure.
Paul Curnow, managing director and chief commercial officer at Akaysha Energy, commented that the deal will help ensure revenue certainty for the Brendale BESS.
“The partnership ensures revenue certainty for Brendale BESS while preserving the flexibility needed to adapt to market dynamics. It’s an essential step in advancing large-scale battery projects like ours, which are critical for strengthening grid stability, ensuring long-term reliability, and supporting the transition as coal-fired power stations retire,” Curnow said.
With this offtake agreement in place, Akaysha’s total contracted capacity across its portfolio of four assets in construction now exceeds 1.6GW.
Akaysha’s Brendale BESS to utilise Tesla Megapack
Construction on the Brendale BESS started in August last year, with commercial operations expected to commence in 2026. It will be located on UnityWater’s 3.7-acre site next to the South Pine substation.
Akaysha previously confirmed that the Brendale BESS will incorporate Tesla Megapack technology, with Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd (CPP) set to deliver the Balance of Plant (BoP).
The developer is also using Megapacks at its 1,660MWh Orana BESS, located in the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), in New South Wales. However, the developer has a multi-supplier approach and for its biggest project to date, the Waratah Super Battery project, also in New South Wales (slightly larger than Orana at 850MW/1,680MWh), system integrator and manufacturer Powin is providing the BESS solution.
The Brendale BESS project will provide energy arbitrage and Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) to support the National Electricity Market (NEM) and facilitate the integration of solar PV and wind projects by utilising the existing transmission infrastructure in the region.
Enervest submits 800MW BESS in Queensland to Australia’s EPBC Act
Elsewhere in Queensland, Melbourne-based developer Enervest has submitted a proposed 800MW, 2-hour duration BESS in the Somerset Regional Council region to the federal government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The Hazeldean BESS will directly connect to the National Electricity Grid (NEG) at the north of the site, where an existing high-voltage transmission line owned and operated by Powerlink Queensland is located.
The EPBC queue, administered by the Federal government, aims to protect nationally threatened species and ecological communities. The approval must be received before a project can be developed.
As reported by Energy-Storage.news yesterday (21 February), Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) Australia submitted plans for its 1,600MWh Armidale East BESS in New South Wales to the EPBC Act. The 4-hour duration system is being proposed in Pint Pot Creek, adjacent to the existing 141MW Metz solar PV power plant.
