Ayala-led ACEN Australia inked a deal with Marubeni Asian Power Singapore to develop a battery energy storage system (BESS) in New South Wales, Australia.

In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange on Tuesday, Mar. 5, ACEN said the company and Marubeni are set to produce 200 megawatts (MW) out of 400 MW per hour of BESS which would last two hours, as well as deliver 400 MWh BESS to the New England Solar.

According to ACEN, the New England Solar project was described as a major contributor to the National Electricity Market (NEM).

The partnership investment was valued at 250 million Australian dollars or P910 million, as the project is set to finish by next year.

David Pollington, ACEN Australia's managing director shared how the collaboration between two power companies would promote sustainable and renewable energy (RE) in Australia.

“Battery storage will play a critical role in bringing renewable energy projects to life and clean electricity for Australian homes and businesses,” he said. “Once finished, it will be one of the nation’s largest co-located solar and battery energy storage facilities and enables energy to be stored and made available to the grid when it is needed.”

Marubeni Power Singapore president and chief executive officer Moroo Shino expressed gratitude to have settled a deal with ACEN during the Philippine Business Forum in Australia.

“It is our pleasure to sign the MoU with ACEN Australia in the forum and expand our collaboration outside the Philippines. We believe the project will be successfully materialized through the strength and cooperation of both companies,” Marubeni chief stated.

The first stage of New England Solar began producing 400 MW worth of clean and renewable electricity in New South Wales and Queensland, Australia a year ago.

The solar facility has an overall capacity of 720 MW and is constructed in different stages within the New South Wales and New England region.

“This agreement marks the initial stage of the battery of 200 MW, with potential for significant future expansion. The project is being delivered with the support of host landholders, First Nations, and the Uralla community,” ACEN reported.

During this progress, Lumea, an energy infrastructure services provider under the Transgrid Group, will be responsible for the grid-forming BESS to grid.

This allows ACEN and Marubeni to secure enough energy as the aging coal fire power stations begin to shift to RE generation and storage.

Transgrid chief executive officer Brett Redman commended ACEN for tapping them, stating “The team is excited to get on with the job of connecting the battery energy storage system [BESS] to the electricity network… it’s a very big step forward in the energy transition and for Australia’s electricity consumers.”

Currently, Ayala Group’s Australian platform of ACEN represents around 1 gigawatt (GW) of capacity for large-scale RE energy generation including those under construction and the operational ones.

More than eighty GW capacity of activities are in the pipeline, specifically within the solar, wind, battery, and pumped hydro projects all over Australia.