News

Edify Energy has submitted a scoping report for its proposed Kooyong BESS, to be located near Armidale in northern NSW, for assessment by the state planning authority.

The Kooyong BESS is proposed on an 8.1-hectare project site located approximately 6km east of Armidale township in the Armidale Regional LGA.

The project includes a BESS with a capacity of up to 200 MW / 800 MWh, an electrical reticulation network and a sub-station. It will connect to TransGrid’s existing 330kV Armidale Sub-station.

Subject to necessary approvals, Edify anticipates construction to commence in FY 2028/29.

Construction is expected to take approximately 12 months, during which a peak workforce of up to approximately 70 FTE personnel will be required onsite. Approximately 3 FTE jobs, plus additional indirect employment opportunities, are expected over its expected 30-year lifespan.

The Kooyong BESS project area was previously under development by Neoen Australia and called Eathorpe BESS, which was proposed to have an estimated capacity of up to 100 MW / 200 MWh across a total area of 65.6ha.

However “after several years of environmental and technical studies”, Neoen said it had made “the difficult decision not to proceed with this project”.

According to Neoen, “This decision was based primarily on the project’s limited scale. The maximum capacity (80–100 megawatts) is constrained by the existing grid infrastructure, particularly the overhead transmission lines and the steep topography of the site.

“Unfortunately, this scale would not allow the project to achieve the economies that larger battery projects can deliver.”

Neoen thanked the local community and stakeholders “for their time, input, and support during our studies”.