Australian company Ausgrid has submitted its 150 MW/300 MWh Berkeley Vale Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project to the Australian government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act for federal environmental assessment (EPBC, 29/05/2026). The project, located in New South Wales (NSW), consists of the installation of a BESS adjacent to Ausgrid’s existing Berkeley Vale Zone Substation. It has been designated as a New South Wales State Significant Development (SSD).
The facility is expected to deliver a maximum output of 150 MW with a two-hour duration, representing a total storage capacity of 300 MWh, and will be connected to the substation through a 33kV underground cable. Once commissioned, the facility will store electricity from the grid, discharge it during peak demand periods, and provide ancillary services to the National Electricity Market (NEM).
The submission of the Berkeley Vale BESS marks the latest addition to the growing pipeline of battery storage project announcements in NSW.
Germany’s RWE recently obtained official approval to operate Australia’s first eight-hour BESS at full capacity. The Limondale BESS project, located within the designated South-West Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) in NSW, will be capable of delivering its maximum registered discharge output for more than eight hours, corresponding to a storage capacity of at least 400 MWh, making it the longest-duration battery currently in operation in Australia (KEI, 29/05/2026). At the same time, BW ESS recently submitted its 700 MW Banaby BESS project for environmental assessment under the EPBC Act (KEI, 18/05/2026).
The NSW state recently launched two tenders aimed at allocating 2.5 GW of renewable energy capacity and 12 GWh of BESS capacity. Tender 8, dedicated to 2.5GW of renewable energy, represents the state’s “largest Long-Term Energy Service Agreement tender” under its Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap. Meanwhile, Tender 9 will focus on the allocation of 12 GWh of long-duration storage capacity. Eligible technologies include large-scale batteries and pumped-storage hydropower projects. According to the announcement, NSW expects to achieve 90% of its 2030 renewable energy target through Tender 8, while Tender 9 is projected to exceed the state’s 2030 and 2034 storage capacity targets by 50% (KEI, 22/05/2026).