Ballarat battery

Ballarat Battery Energy Storage System

The Ballarat Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is Victoria's first utilities scale grid-connected battery.


Overview

The Ballarat BESS is a 30MW/30MWhr battery. It was integrated into the electrical grid in 2018.

Our battery has the capacity to power over 20,000 homes for more than an hour before being recharged. It’s located in the Ballarat Terminal Station. This allows us to help Victoria meet peak energy demand and improve the stability of the state’s energy supply.

The project was commissioned by the Victorian Government and Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). The Ballarat BESS was designed, constructed, and is now operated with our help from our partners Spotless, EnergyAustralia and Fluence. 


Knowledge sharing

By sharing our learnings, we further the growth of battery services in Australia and across the world.


Report: Operational Report | July 2020

This report shares the learnings from the first 12 months of operation of the Ballarat BESS. Read the report (PDF, 1.8MB).


Report: Project Summary Report | August 2019 

This report shares knowledge on the installation and commissioning of a BESS that is:

  • Utility scale 
  • Transmission asset connected   

Read the report (PDF, 4.2MB).

Key milestones

  • 05/03/18
    Financial close
  • 06/06/18
    First container shipment recieved
  • 27/09/18
    Final battery shipment received
  • 06/11/18

    AEMO registration

  • 22/12/18
    Commercial operations

Operations

This graphic displays charging/discharging data against Victorian prices over the last 2 days. The full version can be viewed on the EnergyAustralia website.