Vena signs $142M BESS rev share deal with Danish energy trader Australia during Royal visit

Singapore-headquartered renewables developer Vena Energy has signed a $200 million (USD 142 million) agreement with Danish energy trading company InCommodities for the second 204 MW stage of the Bellambi Heights battery project being constructed near the town of Gulgong in New South Wales (NSW), some 300 kilometers in land from Sydney.

In a statement, the parties said the deal “represents a fundamental shift in how Australian batteries are financed,” adding that it marks a move away from “rigid models to revenue-share agreements that make volatile storage projects bankable.”

Under the seven-year agreement, InCommodities has essentially purchased the right to a share of the revenue from the battery, with the exact percentage not specified. As part of the deal, InCommodities will work with Vena to manage when it charges and discharges the system to maximise revenue with the $200 million to be paid out in instalments. The deal was formalized in front of King Frederik X and Queen Mary, on a Royal visit to Australia.

Owen Sela, head of Australia at Vena, said the long-term commitment provides revenue certainty for the project that will provide critical firming capacity for a region with high concentration of solar assets.

“Our partnership with InCommodities is a significant vote of confidence in Australia’s clean energy transition,” he said. “By securing international investment, we are delivering the critical grid infrastructure needed to balance NSW’s growing renewable capacity.”

The Bellambi Heights project, originally proposed as the Gulgong Solar Farm and set to include up to 500 MW of solar before plans were revised in 2023, is being developed on a 23-hectare site about seven kilometres northwest of Gulgong in the NSW government’s planned Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone. The project now comprises a 408 MW battery energy storage system with approximately two hours of storage capacity.

Construction of the battery began earlier this year with initial energisation of the system expected in late 2026 and full commercial operations by mid-2027. Once operational, the battery will be capable of powering 280,000 homes for approximately 2.5 hours during peak demand.

While InCommodities’ deal relates to the second 204 MW stage battery, Vena has reportedly agreed to an offtake deal with another, as yet unnamed, investor for the first battery.

The InCommodities deal marks the latest expansion of the Danish energy trader’s Australian footprint with the company having committed to nearly 700 MW of solar, wind and battery capacity across the country through long-term trading and offtake arrangements.

Andrew Koscharsky, head of power trading for Australia and New Zealand at InCommodities, said the new agreement reinforces the company’s role as a long-term participant in the Australian power market.

“This partnership with Vena Group brings InCommodities’ total Australian investment commitment to nearly $500 million, a clear signal of our long-term commitment to the Australian energy market,” he said.

“Since 2024, we have delivered bankable risk-management solutions for nearly 700 MW of renewable assets.”

InCommodities, which operates across Europe, North America and the Asia-Pacific, is targeting 2 GW of long-term power purchase agreements in Australia by 2028.

From pv magazine Australia.