Akaysha Energy, the battery storage developer backed by American funds management giant BlackRock, has lodged a planning application with Gladstone Regional Council for a 400 MW / 1,600 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) to be built near Gladstone.
Melbourne-based Akaysha said the four-hour capacity big battery would be built immediately adjacent to Powerlink’s existing substation at Wurdong Heights, about 12 kilometres south of the city, and about 1 km south of a rival battery project planned by German renewable energy developer BayWa r.e..
BayWa r.e. last week revealed it has filed for approval under the Australian government’s EPBC legislation for a 200 MW / 800 MWh battery energy storage system to be built on a block just north of the Wurdong Heights substation.
Akaysha said the site for its project had been selected after “extensive” studies identified the strength of the grid in the location, and its proximity to renewable energy generation projects, with the region, long a centre of fossil fuel production and exports, now home to a growing number of renewable energy and green hydrogen projects.
The company said its Wurdong Heights BESS will provide additional storage capacity for the National Electricity Market and increase energy reliability for the local community.
“It will capture excess energy from the grid … that can be rapidly released back during periods of high demand or when renewable generations is low, helping to balance supply and demand,” it said.

Image: Akaysha Energy
Akaysha said construction of its Wurdong Heights big battery is targeted to start in late 2025 with operations to commence in 2027.
The lodging of the planning application for the Wurdong Heights BESS comes just days after Akaysha announced that its Orana battery project being developed in central west New South Wales (NSW) had taken a key step forward.
Akaysha earlier his week announced it had closed a $650 million (USD 440 million) debt raise that will provide construction financing for the 415 MW / 1,660 MWh Orana BESS being developed near the town of Wellington.
Acquired by Blackrock in 2022, Akaysha has rapidly built up an impressive portfolio of battery storage projects, with its flagship being the 850 MW / 1,680 MWh Waratah Super Battery being constructed on the NSW Central Coast.
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