Australia’s Canberra region brings 500 MWh battery online

The 200 MW/500 MWh Williamsdale battery energy storage system (BESS) has entered commercial operation in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), completing the territory’s Big Canberra Battery Project (BCBP).

The project was developed by London-headquartered energy storage company Eku Energy at a cost of more than AUD 300 million ($210 million). Its 500 MWh capacity can supply electricity equivalent to one-third of Canberra’s peak demand for two hours.

The 26-hectare project uses Tesla Megapack 2 XL batteries. Adelaide-based high-voltage electrical infrastructure contractor Consolidated Power Projects (CPP) delivered the project as Eku Energy’s balance-of-plant contractor.

The battery, located about 40 km south of Canberra near the ACT-New South Wales border, will support the ACT electricity network and strengthen energy security and reliability in the territory and neighboring New South Wales.

Eku Energy Chief Operating Officer Tom Best described commissioning the Williamsdale BESS as a significant achievement.

“We thank our delivery partners for their commitment over the past nearly two years,” Best said.

Eku Energy subsequently provided a AUD 500,000 grant to the ANU’s Centre for Energy Systems to examine the role of utility-scale batteries and improve public understanding of their benefits and challenges.

The company also established a community benefit-sharing program, Powering Big Dreams, which distributed an equivalent AUD 500,000 among nine local projects. Beneficiaries included Southern ACT Catchment Group, Fearless Women, St Vincent de Paul Society, Rise Above Cancer Relief, YWCA Canberra, The Stellar Company, Australian River Restoration Centre, OzHarvest and the Canberra Environment Centre.

From the outset, the ACT government worked with the Australian National University (ANU) to hold a workshop with community stakeholders to help design the Big Canberra Battery Project.

The BCBP includes the utility-scale Williamsdale BESS and behind-the-meter batteries installed at nine ACT government sites in 2024, followed by two more in 2025.

Canberra aims to achieve net-zero emissions by 2045.

From pv magazine Australia