A big battery project under construction in central-western New South Wales has sealed a “landmark” long-term storage deal worth $200 million with a Danish company that is making its mark in Australia as a “non traditional” renewable energy off-taker.
The deal between Aarhus-based InCommodities and the developer of the 408 megawatt, two-hour Bellambi Heights battery energy storage system (BESS), Singapore-based Vena Energy, was announced on Wednesday during the Danish Royal State visit to Australia.
The companies say the seven-year Revenue Share Agreement will underpin delivery of the BESS project, “directly supporting grid stability” as New South Wales grows its share of renewables and shifts away from coal.
The Bellambi BESS started out as a solar and battery project but in 2023 was pared back to battery only, after land-use limitations led to a decision to ditch the solar farm and instead shoot for a bigger, 408 MW storage system.
The revised plans secured all of the necessary state approvals by October last year, and construction got underway on a stage-one 204 MW battery at the site around 6.5 km north-west of Gulgong in the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).
The companies say the InCommodities deal involves Stage 2 of the project, also 204 MW, which will have the capacity to power 280,000 homes for 2.5 hours during peak demand.
Owen Sela, head of Australia at Vena Energy, said on Wednesday that the partnership with InCommodities marks a “significant vote of confidence” in the Australian market.
“By securing international investment, we are delivering the critical grid infrastructure needed to balance New South Wales’ growing renewable capacity,” Sela says. “Projects like Bellambi Heights are essential to maintaining a reliable, modern network for households and businesses alike.”
For InCommodities, the Bellambi Heights deal marks the company’s second major plat in the Australian market, following last November’s 15-year “capacity swap” deal with Ampyr Australia’s 300 MW, 600 megawatt-hour (MWh) Bulabul BESS in Wellington, NSW.
InCommodities’ head of power trading for Australia and New Zealand, Andrew Koscharsky, told Renew Economy in an interview at the time that he had spent a year-and-a-half trying to find the right collaboration partners to establish the company as a “non-traditional global player” in the local market.
“There aren’t too many energy traders out there that go beyond three years; we’re going 10 and up to 15, and that’s a genuine commitment to the Australian power market from our founders,” Koscharsky said.
“And so that, in itself, is a really important piece that helps underpin new assets that come to market … and again, that’s helping asset owners with risk management solutions that make them bankable.”
With this week’s deal, InCommodities has now committed to nearly 700 MW of solar, wind and battery capacity across Australia through long-term trading and offtake arrangements, taking it closer to its goal of 2GW of long-term PPAs by 2028.
“This partnership with Vena Group brings InCommodities’ total Australian investment commitment to nearly $500 million – a clear signal of our long-term commitment to the Australian energy market,” Koscharsky said on Wednesday.
“Since 2024, we have delivered bankable risk-management solutions for nearly 700MW of renewable assets. Announcing this agreement during the Danish State Visit further underscores the growing alignment between Australia and Denmark in securing critical grid infrastructure.”
