When Neoen received development consent for the Culcairn Solar Farm from the NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment in March 2021, approval included provisions for a 100MW/200MWh battery storage system.
Neoen Australia subsequently increased the planned BESS size to up to 800MWh in December 2024, before further expanding it to 904MWh, attributing the expansion to higher energy densities achievable with more recent container unit configurations.
The 963MWh figure announced in the latest construction commencement is a further increase, bringing the storage component to nearly five times the originally planned capacity and substantially beyond any configuration contemplated at the time of development approval.
The project is supported by a Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA) awarded under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.
LTESAs provide revenue-top-up payments during periods when wholesale prices fall below a floor level, reducing price risk for investors and bringing forward capital commitments in large-scale storage assets.
