South Australia has officially opened its inaugural Firm Energy Reliability Mechanism (FERM) tender round, seeking up to 700MW of long-duration energy storage (LDES) capacity to enhance grid reliability and support the state’s renewable energy transition.

Developer Eku Energy has submitted its 400MW/1,600MWh Monduran battery energy storage system (BESS) project for environmental assessment under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

Powerlink Queensland is seeking federal approval for transmission infrastructure connecting AGL Energy’s 2,000MWh Tuckeroo battery energy storage system (BESS) to the Western Downs Substation in Australia.

The New South Wales Independent Planning Commission has approved Ark Energy’s 3,148MWh Richmond Valley solar-plus-storage project in Australia.

Spanish utility Iberdrola has acquired the 270MW/1,080MWh Tungkillo battery energy storage system (BESS) in South Australia from RES Group.

Publicly-owned energy company CleanCo Queensland’s 250MW/500MWh Swanbank battery energy storage system (BESS) has officially registered with AEMO and commenced its testing and commissioning phase.

Developer Epic Energy has commenced commercial operations at its 100MW/200MWh Mannum battery energy storage system (BESS) in South Australia.

Battery storage equipped with optimisation platforms not specifically designed for Australia’s NEM missed revenue opportunities during the 10 October price spike, according to Sahand Karimi, co-founder and CEO of OptiGrid.

Australia’s most powerful BESS, the 850MW Waratah Super Battery, achieved its first full discharge to the NEM last week.

On 10 October, electricity prices in New South Wales, Australia, reached the Market Price Cap of AU$20,300/MWh (US$13,307/MWh).