Australia’s largest standalone battery in a renewable energy zone is now online, with CPP completing construction of the 185 megawatt (MW) / 370 megawatt-hour (MWh) KESS (Koorangie Energy Storage System) in Victoria’s Gannawarra region.
Located in the Murray River Renewable Energy Zone, the system uses 100 Megapacks with Tesla’s grid‑forming inverters to provide both energy dispatch and critical system strength services to the National Electricity Market (NEM).
CPP, a leading high-voltage infrastructure specialist, was the delivery contractor on the project, which supported over 520 construction jobs at peak. The system has now entered full commercial operation and is importing and exporting electricity at its full rated capacity.
KESS, owned by Sosteneo, is backed by a 20-year System Support Agreement with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO), securing its role in stabilising the grid. Under the agreement, KESS will enable up to 300 MW of new renewable generation to connect in a region previously constrained by network limitations.
A further 15-year offtake agreement with Shell Energy underpins long-term revenue and aligns with its strategy to invest in firming capacity for a decarbonising grid.
The project is the third Edify Energy has developed in Kerang, and its twelfth utility-scale energy asset to reach operation.
Edify’s Executive Chairman John Cole described it as “a powerful example of how advanced grid forming inverter and battery storage technologies can combine to solve some of the most complex challenges in Australia’s energy transition.”
KESS addresses one of the major technical barriers to renewable energy in Victoria’s north-west – grid instability – by using inverter-based technology to manage voltage and frequency independently of fossil fuel generators.