Akaysha Energy, a developer of battery energy storage systems (BESS), is preparing to enter the commissioning phase for its 300MWh Ulinda BESS in Queensland, Australia.
Geoff Eldridge, National Electricity Market (NEM) and energy transition observer at consultancy Global Power Energy, said the BESS has entered the AEMO Market Management System (MMS), signalling that stage one is ready to begin commissioning and testing.
The 150MW 2-hour duration Ulinda BESS is situated in Queensland’s Western Downs region, 31.8km southwest of Chinchilla, a rural town famed for being the ‘Melon Capital of Australia’.
It will be connected to the grid and continuously provide the NEM with Frequency Control and Ancillary Services (FCAS). It will connect to the Queensland transmission network, owned by Powerlink, via a new 275kV feeder bay at the Western Downs substation.
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The supplier for the Ulinda project was a US-based BESS integrator and technology provider, Powin, which is currently at risk of shutting down its business within weeks due to “significant financial challenges”. The two companies had previously collaborated on the 1,680MWh Waratah Super Battery in New South Wales.
However, for Akaysha’s other projects, namely the 1,660MWh Orana BESS in New South Wales and the 410MWh Brendale BESS in Queensland, the developer has opted for Tesla Megapack technology.
A planning application for the Ulinda BESS said that Akaysha holds a platform service agreement with Fluence Energy, an energy storage system integrator and renewable energy services provider, and an operations and maintenance (O&M) agreement with Quintas Energy. The latter will provide asset management, 24/7 operations for the control room, and trading room services for the applicant.
The Ulinda project has also been significant in the history of Akaysha’s business operations in Australia. The group inked its first BESS revenue swap agreement with Re2 Capital in July 2023.
Since then, Akaysha has penned several revenue swap agreements, the most recent with commodities trading company Guvnor Group for its 410MWh Brendale BESS.
The Ulinda BESS is expected to be surrounded by several renewable energy and energy storage assets. For instance, the site will be adjacent to the operational 100MW/200MWh Chinchilla BESS, owned by state-owned generation company CS Energy. This was opened at the Kogan Creek Power Station, a 750MW coal-fired power plant.
Akaysha’s BESS will also be located near the 250MWac Hopeland Solar Farm, which is being developed by Pacific Partnerships.
Another utility-scale solar PV power plant, the 460MW Western Downs Green Hub, is nearby. This site, owned by French renewable power producer Neoen, is claimed to be the largest operational solar PV power plant in Australia, and a 1,080MWh BESS is currently being developed on site.
