Equis Australia has begun construction of a 250MW/500MWh energy storage facility in New South Wales after reaching financial close on the project.
The Calala battery energy storage system (BESS) is expected to be fully operational by 2027 and will have enough power to supply electricity for up to 115,000 homes during peak periods.
The site (pictured) is located around 5.8km southeast of Tamworth town centre.
Equis secured a $260m non-recourse senior debt financing package from Westpac, Societe Generale and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation for Calala BESS, which is the first merchant BESS debt financing in New South Wales.
Calala BESS is structured as two independent projects at 100MW and 150MW each with two hours of storage capacity.
The 100MW/200MWh portion of the battery is underpinned by a long-term offtake agreement with Smartest Energy for 100% of its capacity.
Meanwhile the 150MW/300MWh portion of the battery will be a merchant BESS utilising Autobidder, Tesla’s real-time trading and control platform.
The Autobidder agreement will include a revenue share and a minimum revenue guarantee.
Calala BESS will create up to 170 jobs during construction and up to seven jobs during operations.
It will be connected to NSW’s electricity grid via an underground cable to the 330kV Tamworth Substation.
Equis co-founder and managing director David Russell said: “The Calala BESS will be instrumental in supporting New South Wales’ renewable energy targets while also providing critical firming and frequency support services to the National Electricity Market, enabling greater integration of renewable energy for Australia.”
Managing director and head of Equis Australia Mahesh Reddy added: “Calala BESS has contracted Tesla to provide 138 Tesla Megapacks, Consolidated Power Projects (CPP) to deliver the engineering, procurement and construction of the balance of plant and Transgrid to complete the connection into the Tamworth Substation.”
Equis’ in-house planning and communications team have been engaging with the Tamworth community for the BESS project since 2022.
Through a Voluntary Planning Agreement, Calala BESS will contribute $2m to the Tamworth Regional Council.
Equis says it will continue to work closely with council throughout the whole asset lifecycle to develop initiatives that will support the Tamworth community.