Canadian Solar’s energy storage division e-STORAGE has signed an agreement to supply and commission a 100MW/200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) for OX2’s Muswellbrook solar-plus-storage site in New South Wales, Australia.
e-STORAGE is a subsidiary of Canadian Solar, the vertically integrated solar PV manufacturer, specialising in designing, manufacturing and integrating battery storage systems for utility-scale applications.
OX2 is a Swedish independent power producer (IPP) that develops and operates renewable energy and storage assets internationally. The companies announced that shipments are scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2027, with commercial operation targeted for the third quarter of 2028.
The system will be built on e-STORAGE’s SolBank 3.0 battery containers, paired with power conversion systems (PCS), plant controls and the company’s EQ-S energy management system, developed in-house by e-STORAGE’s North American software team.
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The battery cells and SolBank system will be manufactured at Canadian Solar’s own facilities.
e-STORAGE will also conduct the project’s grid connection studies, supply the hybrid power plant controller (PPC) coordinating the battery with the co-located solar PV power plant, and lead integration and commissioning, backed by a 20-year long-term service agreement (LTSA).
Muswellbrook sits roughly 2.5km east of the town of the same name, on land at a former coal mine within the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).
OX2 confirmed it had started construction at the site in May 2026, when the project was reported at 100MW/300MWh of storage paired with a 135MW solar PV plant, developed alongside Japanese energy company Idemitsu and financed with support from Japanese bank MUFG.
The project originally secured NSW Independent Planning Commission approval in May 2025 for a 135MW/270MWh BESS co-located with the solar plant, subject to conditions including a traffic management plan, a biodiversity management plan and a decommissioning and rehabilitation plan, after the application drew more than 50 public objections during assessment.
Federal approval followed in August 2025 under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act, clearing the project’s final major regulatory hurdle.
The battery storage capacity associated with the project appears to have shifted at each stage, from 270MWh at initial approval to 300MWh at the start of construction to 200MWh specified in the new supply agreement.
OX2 Australia vice president Steve Symons said the BESS component turns Muswellbrook into a hybrid facility.
“This battery storage system is what turns Muswellbrook into a true hybrid facility, pairing solar generation with storage so we can capture energy when the sun is shining and deliver it when the grid needs it most,” Symons said.
e-STORAGE president Jeff Roy said the project reflects the role storage must now play as coal generation retires from the region.
“Australia’s energy transition is being decided in regions like the Hunter, where storage now has to carry the load that retiring coal once did,” Roy said.
Muswellbrook adds to a run of Australian projects built on e-STORAGE’s SolBank technology.
Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) Australia commissioned its 100MW/200MWh Terang BESS in Victoria in September 2026, the company’s first standalone storage project, using SolBank 3.0 alongside Fluence’s Mosaic bidding software and supported by AU$7 million in Victorian government funding for its grid-forming inverter capability.
Epic Energy separately brought its 100MW/200MWh Mannum BESS online in South Australia in October 2025, a project it acquired from Canadian Solar’s development subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, alongside a contract for e-STORAGE to supply the SolBank system.
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