Australian renewable energy developer Edify Energy has confirmed that its 185MW/370MWh Koorangie battery energy storage system (BESS) in Victoria has started exporting to the grid.
The BESS is situated in the Murray River Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) in the northwest of the state, around 294km from Melbourne, the state capital.
Edify has previously stated that it was awarded a System Support Agreement with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to provide 125MW of services to strengthen the power system and increase the potential for generation in the Murray River region. This will see the hosting capacity of the Murray River REZ increased by up to 300MW.
The energy storage system will utilise Tesla Megapacks, which are equipped with grid-forming inverters that operate in Virtual Machine Mode. This setup will enable the storage system to function like a conventional generator, providing essential system strength services. Tesla recently unveiled plans to develop a battery re-manufacturing facility in Collie, Western Australia.
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Sosteneo, a specialist infrastructure investor, helped deliver the AU$400 million (US$254 million) Koorangie BESS. The facility is expected to achieve commercial operations sometime this year.
Edify took to LinkedIn to celebrate the milestone, stating that it will be capable of providing essential grid stability to the region, liberating more cheap renewable energy for the community, and advancing Australia’s 100% renewable energy future.
“Today marks an exciting milestone for Koorangie Energy Storage System, successfully exporting to the grid for the first time, as we commence hold point testing,” the company said.
Edify Energy confirmed that oil and gas major Shell Energy signed a 15-year term offtake agreement for the full 185MW/370MWh. The two companies had previously partnered on the Riverina Energy Storage System in New South Wales, with Shell having secured access operational rights to a 60MW/120MWh portion of the battery.
It is worth noting that the Victoria government has funded the development of the Koorangie BESS with AU$119 million. The project is also part of an AU$480 million investment the Victorian government is making through its Renewable Energy Zone Fund in 12 projects to address capacity constraints and strengthen and modernise the state’s grid.
Edify Energy continues pursuit of solar-plus-storage sites
Edify Energy has been expanding its Australian portfolio by complementing standalone grid-forming BESS with solar-plus-storage sites, a means to optimise a power plant by capturing excess energy generated to then be exported to the grid at times of peak demand.
For instance, Energy-Storage.news reported in December 2024 that the company was set to develop a 1,200MWh solar-plus-storage twin project in North Queensland, after success in the recent Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) tender.
The twin projects are known as Ganymirra and Majors Creek Solar Power Stations which will have a 150MW solar PV generation capacity alongside a co-located 600MWh BESS.
Alongside these two projects, Edify is pursuing the 250MW Muskerry solar-plus-storage project, located 30km northeast of Bendigo in Victoria. The federal government recently approved the development of this project. According to project documents, the Muskerry solar plant will take approximately 12 months to construct and will have an operational lifespan of around 50 years.
Edify submitted the project to the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act queue in October 2024. The EPBC queue, administrated by the federal government, aims to protect nationally threatened species and ecological communities under the act.
Edify Energy also owns the 150MW/300MWh Riverina and Darlington Point BESS in New South Wales, which transmission system operator Transgrid recently tapped to increase its network capacity.
The BESS project is also equipped with Tesla Megapacks, which form three separate operating systems co-located adjacent to an existing 333MWp solar PV power plant, connected at the 132kV Darlington Point substation.
