Queensland big battery ready to start commissioning and testing

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Victorian-headquartered battery storage developer Akaysha Energy, wholly-owned by global investment giant BlackRock Inc., is preparing to enter the commissioning and testing phase of its 298 MWh Ulinda Park battery energy storage system (BESS) – Stage 1, after entering the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMOs) market management system (MMS).

Located in Queensland’s Western Downs energy corridor, 277 kilometres northwest of Brisbane, the 155 MW 2-hour duration Ulinda BESS has a registered capacity of 197 MW and will connect to the grid via a state-owned network operator Powerlink Queensland 275 kV feeder bay.

The Ulinda BESS utilises 52 of the US-headquartered energy storage company and Ulinda BESS builder, Powin’s 1,500 V / 3,538 kW battery stacks and will support the expansion of solar and wind projects in the Western Downs region.

The facility will store electricity from the grid during low demand periods and feed back into the grid during peak demand periods, as well as continuously providing frequency control and ancillary services (FCAS) to the National Electricity Market (NEM).

Akaysha holds a platform service agreement (PSA) with US-based joint venture (JV) between Siemens and AES, energy storage solutions company Fluence Energy, and an operations and maintenance agreement with Spain-headquartered renewable energy asset manager Quintas Energy who will provide asset management, 24/7 operations for the control room and trading room services.

Akaysha has a long-term service agreement with Powin, and an operations and management agreement with Consolidated Power Projects Australia Pty Ltd to provide balance of plant HV (high voltage) and MV (medium voltage) maintenance services.

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