Less than two years after it began construction, the four-hour 240 megawatt (MW) Summerfield battery energy storage system (BESS) in South Australia has this week officially begun commissioning.
Originally developed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners (CIP) but sold earlier this year to Intera Renewables, the local renewable energy platform of Sydney headquartered Palisade Investment Partners, Summerfield BESS is a four-hour duration 240 MW BESS located 55 kilometres east of Adelaide.
Construction began on the project in early 2025, the first giga-scale battery project in what is Australia’s most advanced renewable energy state.
The 240 MW/960 megawatt-hours (MWh) project consists of over 200 SolBank 3.0 battery containers from e-Storage, a subsidiary of solar giant Canadian Solar. Once fully energised, the project will store power capable of powering 70,000 homes for four hours.
Over 20 months after construction began, e-Storage announced on its LinkedIn account that the Summerfield BESS was now in commissioning.
Once it goes live, the Summerfield battery will be South Australia’s biggest battery, though it won’t be able to hold that title for long.
Australian energy gentailer Alinta Energy is currently building the 250 MW/1,000 MWh Reeves Plains battery – with a promised second stage of the same size set to one day double capacity.
Depending on the timing of the second stage, the Reeves Plains battery will one day contend with the Limestone Coast Energy Park and its 500 MW/1,500 MWh BESS.
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