AEMO reported a 43 per cent annual increase in the utility-scale battery pipeline in its September Connections Scorecard, recording 5.8 GW of new applications. The scorecard detailed that 40 per cent of current battery projects target durations of three to ten hours. Analysts forecast that 24.4 GW of storage capacity with four or more hours of duration will be operational by 2030. Akaysha Energy established a $1.75 billion portfolio financing facility backed by a global banking consortium. The developer will use the capital to fund its upcoming pipeline of utility-scale battery energy storage systems across the Australian market.
The NEM average price reached $113.00/MWh, which was $49.30/MWh above the seven-day average and ranked as the highest average price of the last seven days. South Australia recorded 14.7 negative price hours, representing 61.1 per cent of its trading intervals, and saw the lowest price of -$118/MWh at 14:15. Victoria recorded the highest price of $338/MWh at 08:20. New South Wales recorded the demand peak of 8,482 MW at 18:45. Renewables supplied 43.0 per cent of energy across the day, reaching an instantaneous peak of 69.1 per cent at 11:50, while batteries discharged 20,034 MWh.
ARENA committed $11 million to Mars Petcare Australia to deploy an 18 MWth thermal energy storage system at its Wodonga facility. The project will demonstrate how industrial heat can be electrified using renewable power and thermal storage to displace natural gas consumption in manufacturing. Rondo Energy and Rio Tinto commenced front-end engineering and design for Australia's largest thermal energy storage project. The 30 MW and 360 MWh facility is located at the Yarwun alumina refinery near Gladstone in Queensland.
Construction will begin on the Marinus Link Victorian converter station at Hazelwood North in the Latrobe Valley. The station will form a key part of the electricity and telecommunications interconnector. The Environment Effects Statement for the VNI West transmission project opened for public review. The assessment process allows stakeholders to evaluate the environmental impacts of the planned grid infrastructure designed to support the renewable energy transition between Victoria and New South Wales.
ARENA committed $4 million to JET Charge for the Realising Electric Vehicle-to-Grid project, marking the largest commercial deployment of the technology in Australia. The initiative will demonstrate the integration of electric vehicle fleets into the grid to provide demand response and frequency control services. AusNet commissioned ten neighbourhood batteries across its Victorian distribution network to manage surplus residential solar exports and facilitate local electrification. The pole-mounted storage units will alleviate grid constraints and improve hosting capacity for rooftop solar systems. Ingeteam delivered power conversion systems for 65 MW and 130 MWh of battery energy storage and direct-current coupled assets across South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales.
GreenPoint Energy will offer up to 75 positions at its Koolunga battery energy storage system project in South Australia to workers affected by the closure of the Whyalla Steelworks blast furnace. Senator David Pocock proposed a 5 per cent levy on data centres exceeding 5 MW to raise an estimated $500 million annually starting in January 2027. The plan targets foreign-owned technology companies to fund public services while advocating for a formal coalition of independent members of parliament to influence tax policy on gas and emerging digital infrastructure. OptiGrid appointed Christopher Hodge to the newly created role of Head of Corporate Development to expand its battery energy storage services.
Natural gas prices fell 6.2 per cent to US$2.78/mmbtu. AEMO cancelled a forecast Lack of Reserve 2 condition for South Australia that had been projected for 23 October, and subsequently cancelled a forecast Lack of Reserve 1 condition for the same region and date. AEMO lodged an application with the Fair Work Commission seeking the termination or suspension of protected industrial action being undertaken by approximately 110 Professionals Australia members. AEMO Executive General Manager of System Design Nicola Falcon spoke at the High Temperature Minerals Processing Forum in Adelaide.