“Social licensing is the next frontier for battery energy storage systems,” said Matt Baumgurtel, partner, new energy lead at Hamilton Locke.

A 12GWh pumped hydro project and a 1,200MWh battery energy storage system in New South Wales (NSW) have been submitted to Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

Neoen Australia has announced the successful energisation of the second stage of its 540MWh Western Downs battery energy storage system (BESS) in Queensland, completing the milestone six weeks ahead of schedule.

Australian renewable energy company Tilt Renewables has officially inaugurated its 100MW/200MWh Latrobe Valley battery energy storage system (BESS) near Morwell, Victoria.

Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has announced its largest-ever investment commitment, with AU$3.8 billion (US$2.5 billion) allocated to support the Marinus Link interconnector connecting the states of Tasmania and Victoria.

910MWh of BESS in Queensland, Australia, has been added to AEMO’s Market Management System, signalling readiness for commissioning.

“The speed at which the grid-forming inverters are operating means that standby consumption will be higher,” said Dave Bowly of AGL.

BESS developer Pacific Green Technologies has secured a AU$77 million (US$49.9 million) debt facility for projects in Australia.

“We’re expecting the results of the Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) Tender 3 in the coming weeks,” Thimo Mueller, general manager, commercial at ASL, said in the opening keynote of the Battery Asset Management Summit Australia 2025 this morning.

Sahand Karimi, CEO of OptiGrid, tells ESN Premium that the majority of BESS projects in the NEM “rarely go fully contracted”.