Australian “AI factory” developer Firmus Technologies has inked a landmark long-term power purchase deal that will supply firmed electricity for its South Australia data centre plans while also underpinning the development of a much needed four-hour big battery on Australia’s most renewable grid.
Firmus said on Tuesday it has signed a 12-year agreement with Swiss commodity trading giant Gunvor Group for 600 megawatts (MW) of firm power to underpin the first-phase of delivery of 2.7 gigawatts (GW) of combined capacity across its Tailem Bend and Stirling North projects, in South Australia.
Under the agreement, Gunvor – which late last week won regulatory approval to buy the retail business of Australian renewables outfit Zen Energy – has committed to deliver 1.2 GW of new renewable energy generation and 1.5 gigawatt-hours of new battery storage by 2032 to power the SA expansion plans.
First cab off the rank is the Koolunga Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) being developed in South Australia’s mid-north region by GreenPoint Energy, which is the new name for the Australian renewables subsidiary of Singapore company Equis.
Off the back of the Firmus deal, and as part of a bespoke long-term offtake deal with Gunvor, GreenPoint Energy (GPE) has announced financial close of the Koolunga BESS, a 200 MW and 800 megawatt-hour (MWh) project that stands to be one of the biggest yet in South Australia when it powers up in 2028.
