One of state’s biggest batteries sits idle after owner sent into administration

One of the biggest batteries operating in South Australia has been sitting idle for nearly a month following the decision to seek voluntary administration of one of its joint-venture owners.

The Templers battery, east of Adelaide, is sized at 111 megawatts (MW), and 285 MWh and is one of the biggest in the state in terms of storage, behind only Blyth and Bungama in terms of operating storage capacity.

It was brought online last year, but stopped operations abruptly at the start of the month as renewable energy retailer Zen Energy put itself in the hands of voluntary administrators, and its retail customers were passed on to other utilities.

The Australian Energy Market Operator then suspended Zen Energy from being a participant in the National Electricity Market, which meant that the Templers battery can no longer operate. The battery is owned by Zebre, a joint venture between Zen Energy and Taiwan-based HD Renewable Energy.

“The suspension applies to Zen Retail’s registration in the NEM as an Integrated Resource Provider in respect of a Market, Scheduled Bidirectional Unit with Ancillary Services and as a Small Resource Aggregator,” AEMO said in a notice on July 13.

Zen had been negotiating a sale of its business to the Swiss-based commodities trader Gunvor, and a proposal to buy the retail part of the business had passes several regulatory hurdles.

However, because of its perilous trading position, network owner SA Power Networks submitted a wind-up order in the federal court, and it is believed that Gunvor’s backers also decided against the purchase.

McGrathNicol has been appointed administrator and has said it is urgently assessing Zen’s business.

In its statement earlier this month, Zen Energy said it had successfully completed the sale of its infrastructure asset business comprising a growing portfolio of renewable generation and storage assets.

It is presumed that Templers was part of this transaction, and the likely buyer of that asset, although that has not been spelled out. Renew Economy reached out to the administrator but has not heard back.

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