Snowy Hydro has announced a landmark 15-year virtual toll agreement with Akaysha Energy for the 311MW Elaine Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Victoria.
This 15-year agreement is Snowy Hydro’s first battery toll agreement. With a contracted capacity of 220MW, it is the largest four-hour virtual toll agreement in Australia.
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The agreement will strengthen Snowy Hydro’s ability to help manage wholesale market volatility while enhancing its product offerings to mass-market, large-scale commercial and industrial, and wholesale customers.
The toll structure provides Snowy Hydro with the benefits of physically building and operating a battery, without the capital, construction and operational burden.
The Elaine BESS is strategically located in south-west Victoria, being relatively close to the large load centre of Melbourne and providing Snowy Hydro with transmission diversification benefits. The development of the Elaine BESS helps support reliable electricity supply to Victoria.
It will help Snowy Hydro manage transmission outage risks and support the integration of more wind and solar into the National Electricity Market (NEM).
Snowy Hydro CEO Dennis Barnes said, “Snowy’s unique portfolio of on-demand power stations and electricity storage is the key to the strength of our contribution to reliable electricity supply to homes and businesses and to the introduction of more wind and solar across the grid.
“This deal with Akaysha adds a new short-duration storage layer to our portfolio, which will work hand-in-hand with the long-duration storage capabilities of our pumped hydro assets.”
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Akaysha Energy managing director and chief commercial officer Paul Curnow said, “This agreement represents a step change in the way large-scale storage can be delivered to the market and showcases strong market confidence in the value of BESS as a long-term energy solution.
“By partnering with Snowy Hydro, we’re demonstrating how flexible, long-term virtual toll agreements can unlock major battery projects and deliver value in the wholesale energy market.”
