Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia, a regional energy division of South Korea’s Samsung Group, has submitted plans for a 320MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in New South Wales to Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The 80MW/320MWh 3-hour duration South Coree BESS would be located within the Riverina Murray Region, a primarily agricultural area that hugs the border of Victoria in the state’s south. The project area is currently used for agricultural purposes, predominantly horse grazing.
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It would be located 1km northeast of the Finley Solar Farm, a 175MW power plant owned by international infrastructure investor John Laing Group. It is also located east of the proposed 1,600MWh Berrigan BESS being pursued by developer Syncline. A site plan can be found below.
According to planning documents, the BESS would have an operational lifespan of up to 30 years. After this, the BESS would either be decommissioned or an upgrade could be undertaken, further extending the operational lifespan.
The BESS would connect to the National Electricity Market (NEM), which covers the majority of the states and territories on Australia’s eastern and southern coasts, via the 132kV Finley Substation. It would supply electricity during peak demand and help reduce energy curtailment on the grid.
Samsung C&T confirmed that the South Coree BESS has been designated a State Significant Development (SSD) by the New South Wales Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. Other BESS designated as SSDS include Australian energy major AGL Energy’s 2,000MWh Tomago BESS and EnergyAustralia’s 2,000MWh Mt Piper BESS.
Samsung C&T is also exploring the development of a 250MW solar-plus-storage site in New South Wales, which features plans for a 150MW/600MWh BESS. Named the Romani Solar Farm, the project was submitted to the EPBC Act in early February 2025.
The plant will be located in Booroorban, in the Riverina Murray region, around 618km south of Sydney, the state capital. The project will cover around 1,810 hectares, with the solar plant covering 430 hectares.
Samsung C&T, oriented towards the construction of large-scale projects, has a global presence in the renewable energy and storage market through various partnerships.
200MWh BESS in Victoria enters AEMO market system
Elsewhere, Tilt Renewables’ 100MW/200MWh Latrobe Valley BESS in Victoria has entered the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) market management system, and commissioning and testing will commence in the coming months.
This is according to Geoff Eldridge, NEM and energy transition observer at consultancy Global Power Energy, who said on LinkedIn that the BESS entered the AEMO system on 8 April. Eldrige recently broke the news about the record battery charge and discharge on the NEM and in Queensland, respectively.
The BESS has been delivered via a partnership between AusNet, which owns and operates most of Victoria’s electricity transmission network and parts of the electricity distribution network, and Fluence. Technology provider and system integrator Fluence was awarded the project contract in 2023. It is located south of Morwell, around 152km east of Melbourne.
Eldridge added in his LinkedIn post that “early operational output observed confirms the battery is now actively undergoing commissioning.”
Tilt Renewables is also developer for the 350MW/1,400MWh Wooreen battery energy storage system (BESS) project in the Latrobe Valley for EnergyAustralia. Construction began on that project earlier this year.
