Pre-construction of the Rangebank Battery Energy Storage System commences

Pre-construction activities have commenced for the Rangebank Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Cranbourne, Victoria marked by an official sod turning ceremony attended by the Hon. Lily D’Ambrosio MP, Victoria’s Minister for Energy & Resources.

Situated within the Rangebank Business Park in Melbourne’s southeast, the Rangebank BESS will provide 200MW / 400MWh capacity of reliable and flexible energy to Victorians upon completion in late 2024. When fully operational, the Rangebank BESS will have enough storage capacity to power 80,000 homes for an hour during peak periods, equivalent to providing five hours of energy to all 31,000 households in Cranbourne.

Jointly developed by Eku Energy and Shell Energy with minority equity partner, Perfection Private, the grid-scale battery will be connected to Victoria’s transmission network at the Cranbourne Terminal Station. The Rangebank BESS will increase Victoria’s renewable energy hosting capacity and provide essential system services that will support the safe, secure and reliable operation of Australia’s energy system.

Lily D’Ambrosio, Minister for Energy and Resources said, “Grid-scale big batteries like this one are crucial in helping Victoria achieve our energy storage targets of at least 2.6 GW of capacity by 2030 and at least 6.3 GW by 2035 to ensure we can deliver the benefits of cheaper, renewable energy across the state.”

Daniel Burrows, Head of Asia Pacific and Chief Investment Officer at Eku Energy said, “Today marks an exciting milestone for Eku Energy as we commence pre-construction activities on the Rangebank Battery Energy Storage System with our partners Shell Energy and Perfection Private. As our second grid-scale battery under construction in Victoria, Eku Energy will continue to apply our deep understanding of electricity markets in delivering important battery storage solutions across the National Electricity Market.”

Shell Energy Australia Chief Executive Officer Greg Joiner said the project is an important asset within the company’s growing BESS portfolio. “Grid-scale batteries will play a crucial role in Australia’s energy future as we integrate more renewables into the grid. This is an important milestone for the Rangebank BESS, bringing access to essential firm capacity one step closer for Victorians. Shell Energy is proud to help transition Melbourne to a lower emissions future.”

The Rangebank BESS will be built, serviced, and maintained by Fluence, a global provider of energy storage products and services, and cloud-based software for renewables and storage, utilising Fluence’s latest Gridstack^TM product.

Victoria continues to show leadership in the adoption and advancement of renewables such as solar and wind with renewables representing more than 33% of Victoria’s overall generation in 2022.¹

The addition of Rangebank BESS will provide essential firming capacity and a reliable source of electricity supply to Victoria in addition to helping the state achieve its energy storage and renewable energy targets.

¹ According to the 2023 Clean Energy Australia report.