Orana Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) - Cranage services

Akaysha is proposing to deploy a large-scale BESS near Wellington in central-west NSW. Known as the Orana BESS, it will have a capacity of 415MW and provide 4 hours or 1660MWh of energy storage. Akaysha is preparing to commence construction activities including road upgrades at the intersection of the site access. The Orana BESS will support capacity in the Central-Orana Renewable Energy Zone.

The Site
The proposed site is approximately 2km north-east of Wellington, adjacent to TransGrid's 330kV zone substation as depicted below.

The BESS will occupy an area of ~10 hectares adjacent to the electricity grid and sharing a boundary with the TransGrid substation, this will reduce the need for high voltage power lines and visual impacts.

Why Wellington
Wellington is located on a robust part of the TransGrid 330kV transmission system and within the Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) which is expected to host 3,000MW of new wind and solar generation. As conventional power plants retire over the next decade, batteries will play an increasingly important role in managing security of supply and addressing the intermittency of renewables, especially in areas of high-penetration such as the REZ.

Development Approval
On December 22 2023 the Orana BESS was granted Infrastructure Approval (SSD 45242780) by the NSW Minister for Planning. Following this approval, Akaysha Energy has begun an extensive consultation process with key project stakeholders to develop Management Plans appropriate to the Orana BESS project.