Offtake deal with oil and gas company for 410 MWh battery in Australia

BlackRock-owned BESS company Akaysha Energy has entered a long-term offtake agreement with Swiss oil and gas business Gunvor Group for the 205 MW/410 MWh Brendale BESS, in Queensland.

Akaysha Energy managing director and chief commercial officer, Paul Curnow, said the partnership ensures revenue certainty for the Brendale BESS while preserving the flexibility needed to adapt to market dynamics. “It’s an essential step in advancing large-scale battery projects like ours, which are critical for strengthening grid stability, ensuring long-term [electricity supply] reliability, and supporting the [energy] transition as coal-fired power stations retire,” he said.

Gunvor Group head of Asia-Pacific (APAC) power trading and origination, Davi Maher, said the partnership will be an important part of his company’s APAC strategy as it expands involvement in the energy transition, and will also provide risk management services. “This landmark agreement reflects the growing role of batteries in delivering much-needed flexible and reliable energy solutions,” said Maher. “We look forward to furthering our commitment to innovative, sustainable energy solutions.”

In July 2023, Akaysha completed what was the first BRS agreement of its kind, with Bermuda-based risk transfer platform Re2 Capital, for Akaysha’s 150 MW Ulinda Park BESS, 350 km northwest of Brisbane in Queensland’s Western Downs region.

The offtake agreement with Gunvor follows the AUD 650 million ($413 million) loan Akaysha secured in mid-2024, from 11 banks, to fund the construction of its 1.66 GWh Orana BESS near Wellington, in New South Wales.

That agreement was complemented by a 12-year, 200 MW virtual toll offtake agreement with Melbourne-based utility EnergyAustralia.

Brendale BESS

Brendale is located 20 km north of central Brisbane and next to the South Pine substation, the central node of Queensland’s electricity grid. The AUD 200 million BESS is under construction and scheduled to be operational in 2026.

Featuring Tesla Megapack battery technology, and with the rest of the site delivered by Consolidated Power Projects Australia, the Brendale BESS will be capable of charging from excess solar electricity and storing enough energy to power up to 200,000 homes for up to two hours.

The project’s grid forming capability will increase the robustness of network voltage in the nearby Queensland electricity transmission infrastructure.

Large-scale BESS projects such as Brendale will play a pivotal role in enhancing grid stability and ensuring supply remains resilient during the transition away from coal-fired power, particularly when managing unforeseen coal generator outages as units retire Akaysha said.

From pv magazine Australia.