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Collie BESS Nears Completion, Strengthens Australia’s Renewable Energy Storage Push

Storage

Business Honor
24 April, 2025

Western Australia's shift to sustainable energy has been completed with the battery installation by Collie BESS.

The Collie Battery Energy Storage System (CBESS), a 2,000 MWh project that is expected to rank among Australia's largest has successfully installed all 640 battery packs and 160 inverters, according to a statement released by the Western Australian government and state-owned utility Synergy. Now that commissioning has started, it should be finished by the summer.

The project is an important factor in Western Australia's shift to sustainable energy and is situated on the site of the 300 MW coal-fired Collie Power Stations, which is set to retire in 2027. The South West Interconnected System (SWIS), which serves significant urban and regional hubs like Geraldton, Albany, and Perth, will be connected to it once it is operational. The battery system uses the EnerC containerized lithium iron phosphate (LFP) solution, which is supplied by China's CATL.

According to PV Tech Research's Battery Storage Tech Bankability Ratings, CATL just joined Sungrow and Tesla as AAA-rated energy storage providers. In addition, French IPP Neoen is building a separate 540MW/2,240MWh battery in two phases close by; the first stage, which is 219MW/877MWh, was finished in October 2024.

According to reports, Tesla is looking into building a plant to remanufacture batteries near the Collie battery sites. In order to improve grid resilience and aid in the state's energy transition, Synergy now owns two other significant BESS projects: Kwinana BESS 1 (100 MW/200 MWh) and the currently under construction Kwinana BESS 2 (200 MW/800 MWh).

In contrast to opposition leader Peter Dutton's pro-nuclear viewpoint, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese used the occasion of his site visit to begin the milestone and confirm the federal government's commitment to renewable energy. The results of the upcoming elections will have a big impact on how quickly and where Australia moves toward being a "renewable energy superpower."