PV module manufacturer Trina Solar has submitted a planning application for a 660MW/2,640MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in Wellesley, in the Shire of Harvey, Western Australia.
If approved, the 4-hour duration Kemerton BESS, as it has been named, would be situated 15km southwest of the town of Harvey and 14km northeast of the town of Australind on undeveloped land within the Kemerton Strategic Industrial Area.
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The industrial area has been designated as a state-priority project. It is intended for strategic and heavy industries in the South-West region and is home to major proponents. The land will be provided for downstream processing industries that add value to the region’s abundant natural resources, such as mineral sands and lithium.
Trina Solar’s planning application states that this would be one of the largest projects of its kind in Western Australia, and one of the largest BESS projects connected to the South West Interconnected System (SWIS), the state’s primary electricity network. It will also trade on the Wholesale Electricity Market (WEM).
The lithium-ion (Li-ion) BESS would consist of 800 battery cabinets and around 200 inverter units. It would also include transformers, control systems, and a 300kV underground transmission line. The BESS would connect to the SWIS via the Kemerton Terminal Station.
Trina Solar said that the proposed BESS comprises an AU$400 million (US$273 million) capital investment in the SWIS.
If Trina Solar gains development consent, construction of the BESS would commence in Q3 of 2026 and take around 24 months to complete. It is expected that the facility would operate for 20 years, after which the project would be reviewed to decide whether to renew its operations or proceed with decommissioning.
Trina did not specify if there were any project partners in the project’s development in its planning application. Energy-Storage.news has asked for comment and will update this article accordingly.
“The proposed Kemerton BESS is an important renewable energy project which will contribute significantly to the state’s renewable energy future,” the planning document reads.
“Trina Solar brings a wealth of experience in delivering modern and efficient renewable energy projects, offering the Shire of Harvey the opportunity to establish a state-of-the-art renewable energy storage facility.”
Trina Solar has been pushing further into the energy storage business of late and recently deployed its first energy storage project in Italy for its project development arm and its BESS subsidiary Trina Storage. The 9.3MWh BESS is situated in Torre di Pierri, Italy, in the province of Taranto, southeast Italy.
It also achieved a first in the US market earlier this month, with Trina Storage deploying its first US utility-scale BESS project in Massachusetts, for developer Lightshift Energy.
The portfolio includes 16MW of 4-hour duration systems in Groton, Holden, and Paxton. According to Trina Storage, two of the four sites were completed ahead of schedule during June’s northeastern US heatwaves, meeting peak electricity demand.
CS Energy receives all Tesla Megapack 2XL units for 400MWh BESS in Queensland
Elsewhere in the Australian market, State-owned generation company CS Energy has received all 108 of the required Tesla Megapack 2XL units for its 200MW/400MWh Greenbank BESS in Logan, Queensland. The units were delivered to the project site over a period of three months.
Construction on the AU$300 million BESS started in late 2023 and is anticipated to be completed and operational in 2025. It will provide stability to the National Electricity Market (BESS), by dispatching stored energy when peak demand kicks in.
The Megapack is based on Tesla’s integrated solution, which includes lithium-ion batteries, a power conversion system (PCS), thermal management, and controls. This technology was featured in CS Energy’s first BESS project, the 100MW/200MWh Chinchilla site, which went into operation in August 2024.
CS Energy CEO Darren Busine said CS Energy is investing in energy storage to create a more flexible portfolio to meet our customers’ requirements and Queensland’s future energy needs.
“The Greenbank Battery is CS Energy’s second battery project, and we are again working with Tesla because we believe they set the industry benchmark for energy storage product design and safety,” Busine said.
It should be noted that Tesla’s Megapack system is being utilised across a number of sites in Australia, including RWE’s 50MW/400MWh Limondale BESS in New South Wales.
In early August 2024, energy storage developer Akaysha Energy said it had started construction of its 205MW/410MWh Brendale BESS, also located in Queensland. The project will incorporate Tesla Megapack technology, with Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd (CPP) set to deliver the Balance of Plant.
