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Waratah ‘super battery’ enters full commercial operations in Australia
6/10/2026
News
Australian renewable energy developer Akaysha Energy has reached final commercial operations at the Waratah 'super battery' in New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
Located at the former Munmorah coal-fired power station which closed down in 2012, the Waratah super battery provides 850MW of power and stores 1,680MWh of energy. The battery integrates energy storage, advanced control systems and existing transmission lines to maintain grid security and support increased renewable energy integration.
‘The Waratah super battery is a game changer for New South Wales,’ said Penny Sharpe, Minister for Energy and Climate Change. ‘As ageing coal-fired power stations retire, this project will help keep the lights on for homes and businesses while enabling more renewable energy to flow through the grid.’
The NSW government commissioned the project through the government agency EnergyCo. Akaysha Energy built, owns and operates the facility, which has received full capacity approval from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). Transgrid upgraded the network and provides the system integrity protection scheme (SIPS) control system, overseeing network performance.
The project secured over A$1bn ($697mn) in private investment and brought in approximately 1,000 people for design and construction, with 170 workers on site at peak times.
‘The delivery of the Waratah super battery provides an additional level of safeguard as coal plants retire and transmission infrastructure is built to connect more renewable energy into the Sydney, Illawarra and Hunter load centres,’ said Brett Redman, CEO of Transgrid. ‘Our control system is the largest and most innovative in Australia, detecting network issues in real time and responding instantly to ensure continuity of power supply.’
In European developments, Greenvolt Group has begun construction of the Siedlce battery energy storage system (BESS) in Poland. This 600MW/2.4GWh project will be the country’s largest BESS facility and among the largest in Europe. Commercial operations are expected to begin by the end of 2027. BYD Energy Storage supplies the battery technology, while P&Q and ONDE handle the electrical infrastructure.
Building up Poland’s growing battery storage, Greenvolt Power added that its Turośń Kościelna development near Białystok, with 200MW/800 MWh, entered operation in July 2026, while to the north, the Ełk project, also 200MW/800 MWh, is expected to reach commercial operation this year. Once all three projects are operational, they will provide a combined 1GW of power and 4GWh of storage capacity, according to Greenvolt.
