Renewable energy developer Ampyr Australia has officially started construction on its 300MW/600MWh Wellington Stage 1 battery energy storage system (BESS) in New South Wales.
The BESS, which has been renamed to ‘Bulabul Battery’ following a “first-of-a-kind” Aboriginal community equity partnership with Wambal Bila, is being built just north of the rural town of Wellington in the Central Western Slopes region of New South Wales.
A groundbreaking ceremony was held yesterday (7 August), during which Wambal Bila, a new community-led corporation led by the Wiradjuri people, exercised its right to take long-term equity ownership, securing a 5% stake.
Ampyr Australia confirmed the underlying equity stake includes both a right to a preferred, fixed annual return and a share of ongoing equity returns alongside other investors.
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Several advisors and organisations contributed to the establishment Wambal Bila. Corrs Chambers Westgarth provided guidance to the community and Wambal Bila during its formation and entry into the partnership.
Global law firm Ashurst advised Ampyr Australia on developing the equity structure, while Yamagigu Consulting offered financial and strategic support to both the community and Wambal Bila.
Ashurst has advised on several BESS deals across Australia, including the development and financing of Amp Energy’s 300MWh Stage 1 Bungama BESS in South Australia and Eku Energy’s 500MWh Williamsdale BESS in the Australian Capital Territory.
Alex Wonhas, CEO of Ampyr Australia, hailed the official start of construction, adding that the Aboriginal equity deal should “set a new industry standard” for energy projects in Australia and beyond.
“This is a major turning point for major energy projects. At Ampyr, we’re extremely proud to work alongside Wambal Bila to shift the focus from short-term regional construction jobs to empowering communities through long-term ownership and sustained benefit,” Wonhas added.
Construction on the BESS comes a couple of weeks after Ampyr Australia confirmed it had reached financial close on the 600MWh Stage 1 Bulabul BESS.
The organisation said it had relied on its backer, Singapore-based investor AGP Sustainable Real Assets, and AU$340 million (US$221 million) in debt financing for the Bulabul BESS.
Several banks, including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bank of China, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), Rabobank, Societe Generale, and United Overseas Bank, provided debt financing.
Ampyr Australia purchased the remaining 50% in the Bulabul BESS site from Shell Energy Australia in early February. This was for the project’s first stage whilst the second stage, already owned by Ampyr, will increase the BESS by 100MW/400MWh.
Fluence, a battery storage system integrator and clean energy software and services company, has been contracted to deliver the 600MWh Wellington BESS.
Fluence will provide its full suite of energy storage products, including its Gridstack system, a 20-year service contract, AI-powered bidding optimisation software Mosaic, and the Nispera asset performance management (APM) platform.
