Epic Energy commissions 200MWh BESS acquired from Canadian Solar in South Australia

LinkedIn
Twitter
Reddit
Facebook
Email

Australian energy infrastructure developer Epic Energy’s 100MW/200MWh Mannum battery energy storage system (BESS) in South Australia has entered the commissioning phase.

According to Geoff Eldridge, National Electricity Market (NEM) and energy transition observer at consultancy Global Power Energy, the BESS officially entered the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) grid management system this week (13 May).

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Enjoy 12 months of exclusive analysis

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Annual digital subscription to the PV Tech Power journal
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

The BESS will be situated around 90km from the state capital, Adelaide, in the rural town of Mannum, which is widely recognised as the birthplace of Australia’s Murray River paddle steamer vessels.

Mannum BESS, a 2-hour duration system, was acquired from Canadian Solar’s PV and BESS project development subsidiary, Recurrent Energy, in January 2024. AT the time, Epic Energy believed the BESS would require around AU$130 million (US$83 million) in investment to develop fully.

While it will be a standalone facility, the BESS’ physical location is adjacent to two large-scale solar PV plants that Epic Energy owns and which Recurrent Energy also developed, adding up to 46MWp of generation capacity.

By being registered with AEMO’s Market Management System (MMS), Eldridge said on LinkedIn, this milestone “signals the beginning of testing and commissioning to ensure the system performs reliably under market and network conditions as per the agreed Generator Performance Standard (GPS).”

Epic Energy’s website states that the BESS’s full operation is expected to begin in September 2025.

E-Storage, another Canadian Solar-owned entity, supplied the BESS. Recurrent Energy had selected it when it started developing the site and also tapped the group to provide the integration processes for the battery energy storage equipment. Construction on the site was carried out by Adelaide-based Consolidated Power Projects.

The BESS consists of 80 shipping containers, each approximately 2.4 meters tall, that store the batteries. Epic Energy said the existing roadside vegetation has been preserved, and additional plantings and landscaping have been implemented as part of the project.

UK-headquartered route-to-market (RTM) specialist Habitat Energy said last month that it will optimise Epic Energy’s Mannum BESS. Habitat Energy’s software platform, Evolve, overseen by the company’s traders, will enable bidding in the NEM.

Elsewhere in South Australia, a slightly larger BESS, French independent power producer (IPP) Neoen’s 238.5MW/477MWh Blyth Battery project is nearing commercial operation, having transitioned into the commissioning phase in April 2025.

11 November 2025
San Diego, USA
The 2024 Summit included innovative new features including a ‘Crash Course in Battery Asset Management’, Ask-Me-Anything formats and debate-style sessions. You can expect to meet and network with all the key industry players again in 2025 from major US asset owners, operators, RTOs and ISOs, optimizers, software and analytics providers, technical consultancies, O&M technology providers and more.

Read Next

June 13, 2025
Power company AES Corporation has completed construction of the 1,000MW Bellefield 1 project in Kern County, California. The project includes 500MW of solar and 500MW/2,000MWh of battery storage.
June 13, 2025
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) has successfully implemented a new rule in the National Electricity Market (NEM) incentivising participants to provide “helpful” impacts on frequency.
June 12, 2025
In Texas, two companies, Energy Vault, recognised for its gravity energy storage technology, and Agilitas, known for smaller-scale projects in the Northeastern US, have put utility-scale energy storage projects in the state into operation.
June 12, 2025
Renewable energy developer Acen Australia has received consent from the New South Wales IPC for a 640MWh wind-plus-storage project.
Premium
June 12, 2025
In this blog, ESN Premium speaks with Fluence’s Rob Hills and Sam Markham about hybrid assets and trends in Australia’s NEM.

Most Popular

Email Newsletter