The ACT’s First Large Scale Battery

The ACT’s first large scale battery has switched on. It’s a part of the government’s three-stage Canberra Big Battery project.

Eku Energy won a tender to design, build, operate and own the 250MW grid-connected battery in Williamsdale in Beard. The project will support electricity network reliability and encourage more Canberrans to install solar panels by lowering the pay off period for behind-the-meter batteries.

Project Overview

The ACT is the first jurisdiction in Australia to commit to 100% renewable energy, and its new battery project will help future-proof its electricity supply. The ACT Government has awarded the 250MW/500MWh Canberra battery to Eku Energy after a competitive tender process, with construction expected to begin in late 2024.

The Canberra battery will be located in Williamsdale and, when completed, store enough renewable energy to power a third of the city for two hours during peak demand periods. It will also participate in the National Electricity Market and generate revenue from opportunities such as frequency control ancillary services.

Ashurst has been advising Eku on the project since its submission to the ACT Government, including on the development of project options and pre-feasibility technical advice. We will now become the owner’s engineer as the project moves into its construction and delivery phases, looking after design review, co-ordination, inspection, testing and quality assurance. The project will be delivered in three streams – the 250MW/500MWh Canberra Battery will directly support the electricity network through Stream 1. Further downstream, the ACT Government plans to provide 14 larger-scale batteries at government buildings, and neighbourhood-scale batteries for households.

Partnership with Eku Energy

Large-scale batteries store excess solar energy for use when demand rises. They can also be used to help manage peak demand by absorbing power from the grid and injecting it back at times of high demand.

The 250 megawatt-hour (MWh) battery will be built by Eku Energy, a global specialist energy storage business launched last year through Macquarie’s Green Investment Group. The standalone business will develop, build and actively manage a portfolio of energy storage assets diversified across markets, revenue and contracting structures.

The ACT government will receive a proportionate share of revenue from the battery’s participation in the National Electricity Market as well as a range of energy and system security services in return for fixed quarterly payments. The exact details of these payments are commercially confidential. The ACT will also have the ability to access the BESS’s capacity in the future. The second stage of the project, Stream 2, will deliver 14 small-scale batteries to service ACT government sites, with procurement processes for Stream 2 set to open in August.

Revenue Sharing Agreement

The CEFC is investing alongside private sector lender Infradebt in the 100MW Canberra battery developed by Neoen. Expected to commence operations in 2023, the project will support the ACT’s ambitions for renewable energy and battery services, such as firming renewables, transmission grid support and fast frequency response.

The ACT will receive a consequential share of revenue from the battery’s participation in the National Electricity Market and delivery of energy and system security services, through an innovative revenue sharing arrangement. The ACT will also make fixed quarterly payments to Eku Energy over the project’s 15 year life span.

The ACT’s chief minister Andrew Barr said the partnership with Eku Energy will provide “renewable energy security across the power grid, help our community grow its renewables sector and generate a positive financial return for the ACT.”.

Project Completion

The ACT government has signed a project agreement with Macquarie’s new specialist energy storage business Eku Energy to design, build and operate the Big Canberra Battery in Williamsdale. The 250 MW/500 MWh grid-scale battery will store renewable energy and can back up the electricity network in just milliseconds during peak demand periods. It will also deliver a financial return to the ACT by participating in Australia’s National Electricity Market.

Aurecon will become the owner’s engineer as the project enters construction and delivery phases, looking after engineering review, co-ordination and quality control of engineering, inspection, testing and commissioning. We are providing geotechnical and structural advice, as well as civil and concrete works.

The ACT is building one of the biggest batteries in the world as part of its plan to future proof its energy supply and help families switch to renewables. It will initially include three streams – the first is the 350 MW/500 MWh battery directly supporting the electricity network, followed by battery storage at 14 Government buildings to reduce power consumption, and then a network of neighbourhood batteries for households.



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