The aquisition of the 125 MW / 1,000 MWh Stone Creek battery energy storage system (BESS) in New South Wales (NSW) by United States-headquartered grid-scale energy storage solutions company Energy Vault is complete.
Energy Vault received foreign investment review board (FIRB) approval to complete the acquisition and take control of the Stoney Creek BESS development and operations, fourth months after initially announcing the acquisition from development partner, Texas-headquartered Enervest Group.
Energy Vault Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Robert Piconi said the formal acquisition of Stoney Creek represents a first and very significant milestone in the company’s long-term investment strategy for Australia.
“As the first non-US project developed under our global own-and-operate asset strategy, Stoney Creek underscores our focus on attractive, high growth markets for energy storage solutions supported by favourable regulatory policies as is the case with Australia,” Piconi said.
“We have multiple storage projects in various stages of construction across eastern Australia, and we look forward now to focusing on moving the Stoney Creek BESS rapidly to RTB construction and eventual operation in order to maximise the benefits for the local communities while supporting the NSW regional decarbonisation goals.”
Image: Energy Vault
Located in Narrabri, 535 kilometres northwest of Sydney, Stoney Creek utilises Energy Vault’s proprietary VaultO platform and advanced B-Vault system storage technology to deliver eight hours of dispatchable energy.
Asset Vault
The company has also announced a USD $300 million (AUD $495 million) preferred equity investment to launch a subsidiary called Asset Vault.
Asset Vault will consolidate Energy Vault’s growing portfolio of contracted and operational storage projects, with 3 GW and 12+ GWh of projects identified, acquired and/or in operation.
This includes Stoney Creek BESS, backed by a 14-year long-term energy service agreement (LTESA) with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) Services as consumer trustee under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap (EIR) Tender 5.
Pending final closing – subject to customary regulatory and closing conditions anticipated in the next 30-60 days – Asset Vault will be formed as a fully consolidated subsidiary for Energy Vault’s owned energy storage assets supported by long-term offtake agreements.
“The $300 million investment and the creation of Asset Vault unlock the full potential of our own and operate storage IPP strategy with immediate investment flexibility,” Piconi said.
“By combining long-term contracted revenues with strategic capital and integrated, self-performed project execution, we are well positioned to scale resilient, mission-critical energy infrastructure to meet the current needs driven by the penetration of renewable energy and the massive increases in energy demand driven by data center AI infrastructure.”
Energy Vault’s portfolio includes proprietary gravity-based storage, battery storage, and green hydrogen energy storage technologies.
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