Largest New South Wales long-duration storage tender to date awarded

Three companies have been awarded long-duration storage, long-term energy service agreements from the New South Wales Roadmap Tender 5, which at 1 GW / 13.7 GWh, is the largest to date.

February 27, 2025 Ev Foley

Image: Eku Energy

The New South Wales (NSW) Roadmap – Tender Round 5 for a long-duration storage, long term energy service agreement (LDS LTESA) has been awarded to three projects.

With a combined registered capacity of 1.03 GW and a storage capacity of 13.79 GWh, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) Services, that administers the tender, says is the largest LDS LTESA tender award to date.

Successful bids include United Kingdom-headquartered battery storage business Eku Energy for it’s proposed 100 MW / 800 MWh Griffith battery energy storage system (BESS) located in the Riverina region.

The Victoria-based clean energy company Enervest Utility’s proposed 125 MW / 1,000 MWh Stoney Creek BESS, to be located near Narrabri, NSW in the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), was also successful.

Stoney Creek and Griffith have maximum LTESA contract terms of 14 years each, with an approximate average equivalent annuity cap of 135,000/MW/year and $15,000/MWh/year and an equivalent annual annuity of 95,000/MW/year and $10,000/MWh/year.

These figures also apply to the third project awarded a tender, being the Phillipines-headquartered renewable energy developer ACEN’s pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) project.

The Phoenix 800 MW / 11,990 MWh PHES is to be located at Lake Burrendong, 340 kilometres northwest of Sydney, which will be capable of dispatching its stored energy for a maximum of 15 hours.

It is the first time a PHES project has been awarded an LTESA, and the Phoenix will be located in the Central West Orana REZ, with purpose built, off-stream, upper and lower storage reservoirs connected by a tunnel to a powerhouse containing a pump-turbine unit.

ACEN’s Phoenix is the first pumped hydro project to be awarded a long term energy service agreement, with a maximum contract term of 40 years.
*Image: ACEN Australia*

The Griffith BESS

The Griffith BESS is located at Yoogali, 5 kilometres east of Griffith in the Riverina region of NSW and provide an eight-hour duration storage capacity to for dispatch during periods of high demand.

Eku Energy Chief Executive Officer Daniel Burrows said securing the LDS LTESA for the Griffith BESS is a milestone for the company.

“This project underscores our commitment to accelerating the energy transition by delivering safe and reliable energy storage solutions, through providing cost-effective clean energy to existing and future generations, whilst also supporting New South Wales’ transition to a sustainable energy future,” Burrows said.

Located approximately 500 metres from the Griffith Substation, the Griffith BESS will provide efficient integration into the existing electricity network with its storage capacity able to serve over 88% of daily electricity demand from the Griffith local government area.

Financial close is expected in the March quarter of 2026 with the Griffith BESS anticipated to be operational in 2028.

Three projects have been awarded long-term energy storage agreements in the NSW Roadmap – Tender Round 5.
*Image: AEMO Services*

AEMO Services is a subsidiary of the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), responsible for administering the LDS LTESA tender process under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap (EIR), a driver for the government’s aim to have 28 GWh of long-lasting energy storage by 2034.

The Tender Round 5 LDS projects are expected to contribute a further 11% towards the LDS minimum objective of 2 GW by 2030 and 49% toward the minimum objective of 28 GWh by 2034. Combined, outcomes from the three completed LDS tenders are expected to contribute an overall 40% to the 2030 minimum objective and more than 65% towards the 2034 minimum objective.

Updated 3/3/2025

This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.