The New South Wales (NSW) Independent Planning Commission has approved ACEnergy’s 250MW/1,100MWh Yanco battery energy storage system (BESS) in Australia.
The project, designated as a State Significant Development, will be located 5km south of Leeton, around 500km west of the state capital, Sydney. It will store energy generated from a nearby large-scale solar PV project and will cost around AUS$250 million (US$160 million) to construct.
According to project documents, the BESS will occupy approximately eight hectares near Yanco, just outside the South West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).
The approval for the BESS follows a contentious review process. The project was referred to the Independent Planning Commission due to objections, many of which originated from interstate residents.
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The Yanco approval follows the Independent Planning Commission’s recent decision to approve Potentia Energy’s 1,000MWh solar-plus-storage site earlier this week.
Potentia’s Tallawang Solar Hybrid project, located near Gulgong in the Central-West Orana REZ, combines a 500MW solar PV power plant with a 500MW/1,000MWh battery energy storage system.
The project received initial approval from NSW planning authorities in July 2025. However, similarly to the Yanco BESS, it was referred to the Independent Planning Commission following 54 public objections during the consultation period.
CATL to supply the Yanco project
The Yanco project represents part of ACEnergy’s broader battery storage portfolio in Australia. In August 2025, ACEnergy signed a 3GWh battery supply deal with CATL covering three large-scale projects, including Yanco alongside the Joel Joel and Little River developments in Victoria.
Under the CATL agreement, the Chinese battery manufacturer will provide the design, supply, testing, commissioning, and integration of BESS, medium voltage power station (MVPS), inverters, power plant controller (PPC), energy management system (EMS) and supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA), ensuring full grid compliance and world-class safety and performance.
ACLE Services will serve as the balance of plant (BOP) contractor, handling civil works and on-site construction activities.
Local council rejects ACEnergy proposal to pay reduced development fee
Readers of Energy-Storage.news might be aware that the development faced challenges from the local council regarding financial contributions to the community.
In July 2024, Leeton Shire Council rejected ACEnergy’s proposed voluntary planning agreement of AU$730,000 over five years, instead requiring the standard one per cent development levy, which equates to approximately AU$2.5 million based on the project’s estimated AU$250 million development cost.
ACEnergy argued for the reduced voluntary planning agreement based on the premise that battery energy storage systems are non-electricity-generating assets without the same revenue streams as other renewable energy projects.
The council maintained that the full development levy should apply to the State Significant Development.
