All battery storage and demand response projects selected under ASL’s 2023 firming tender for New South Wales, Australia, are now operational, according to NSW Minister for Energy Penny Sharpe and AusEnergy Services Limited (ASL).
Combined, the projects deliver about 1GW/3GWh of dispatchable firming capacity, equivalent to around 8% of NSW’s total FY2026 summer peak demand, and represent more than AU$1.8 billion (US$1.26 billion) of investment, supporting more than 1,500 jobs during construction.
The tender, known as Tender Round 2 under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, awarded Long-Term Energy Service Agreements (LTESAs) to four projects delivered by AGL Energy, Akaysha Energy, Iberdrola Australia and Enel X. ASL selected the winning bids in November 2023, following an earlier round that selected an 8-hour lithium-ion project from RWE.
AGL Energy, one of Australia’s largest generator-retailers, delivered the 500MW/1,000MWh Liddell BESS at Muswellbrook, built on the site of its former Liddell coal-fired power station.
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AGL chief operations and construction officer Matthew Currie said the battery storage system reached full commercial operations this month.
“The Liddell Battery is one of Australia’s largest grid-scale batteries,” Currie said. “It’s helping to support NSW’s transition to a renewable energy future.”
Akaysha Energy, a BlackRock-backed battery storage developer, delivered the 415MW/1,660MWh Orana BESS at Montefiores. Akaysha’s Orana BESS reached commercial operations in June 2026, connecting to TransGrid’s Wellington substation within the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).
Akaysha Energy CEO Nick Carter said the completion of the projects demonstrates how government policy and private investment can work together.
“As the developer and operator of the Orana BESS, one of the largest batteries in NSW, we’re proud to have delivered this on time,” Carter said.
Iberdrola Australia, the local arm of Spanish utility and independent power producer Iberdrola, delivered the 65MW/130MWh Smithfield BESS, co-located with its existing Smithfield gas peaker plant in western Sydney. Iberdrola opened Smithfield ahead of schedule in February 2026, also securing a separate LTESA that year for its 100MW/1,080MWh Kingswood BESS under a later long-duration storage tender round.
Iberdrola Australia CEO Paul Simshauser said the company delivered the project ahead of schedule.
“We’re proud to have delivered this project ahead of schedule, providing local jobs, using local businesses and equipment during construction,” Simshauser said.
Enel X, the demand-response and distributed energy arm of Italy’s Enel Group, delivered three virtual power plants (VPPs) totalling 95MW of flexible demand capacity with a minimum two-hour dispatch duration.
Enel X’s participation in the Australian market began with a smaller behind-the-meter battery project for the Central Irrigation Trust in South Australia, before expanding into demand response aggregation at grid scale.
An Enel X spokesperson said participating customers had already helped support the NSW grid during the December 2025 heat event.
“We look forward to continuing to strengthen NSW’s electricity system through future Roadmap initiatives, including delivery of an additional 32MW under the latest Firming tender,” the spokesperson said.
ASL’s pipeline extends well beyond the completed firming tender
ASL CEO Nevenka Codevelle said the LTESA structure played two roles in the tender, providing revenue certainty through top-up payment options while requiring projects to be available for at least 90% of the year and to respond to critical Lack of Reserve events.
“This is a really important milestone for the Roadmap, with projects critical for energy reliability up and running and available to support consumers when they need it most,” Codevelle said.
Since its first tender result just over three years ago, ASL has finalised a further six tenders across generation, long-duration energy storage (LDES) and firming infrastructure, with more than half of all projects awarded LTESAs now either operational or under construction.
ASL is currently running tenders targeting an indicative 2.5GW of generation infrastructure and a further 12GWh of long-duration storage infrastructure, with an additional generation tender expected in the fourth quarter of 2026 and a further firming infrastructure tender in the first quarter of 2027.
Codevelle said ASL was looking to support high-value projects that can be delivered on time and provide a net financial benefit to NSW electricity consumers.
“We’re looking to support more high-value projects, those that can be delivered on time and provide a robust net financial benefit for NSW electricity consumers, and encourage them to bid competitively for the support they need to reach financial close and operation sooner,” Codevelle said.
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