Akaysha Energy’s Ulinda Park BESS Phase 1 goes online

Akaysha Energy, a market-leader in large-scale battery energy storage systems (BESS), today announced that its Ulinda Park BESS is now operational and trading in the National Electricity Market, providing energy shifting and Frequency Control Ancillary Services (FCAS) to support Queensland’s energy reliability and the continued build-out of renewable generation.

The 155MW/298MWh battery connects at Powerlink’s Western Downs 275 kV Terminal Station near Hopeland/Chinchilla.

Located adjacent to existing high-voltage infrastructure, Ulinda Park leverages the Western Downs transmission hub built for conventional generation, and now repurposed to firm local solar and wind and reduce curtailment, while providing fast frequency response that dampens price spikes during peak periods.

Ulinda Park’s revenue is underpinned by a 10-year battery revenue swap with Re2, a leading climate risk transfer platform, balancing contracted and merchant exposure while preserving operational flexibility for Akaysha to optimise bidding across energy and FCAS markets.

System and customer benefits include:

• Grid stability & reliability - Ulinda Park provides millisecond-fast response for frequency control and system balancing, improving security as more variable renewables connect.
• Downward pressure on prices - by shifting low-cost daytime renewable energy into evening peaks and supplying FCAS locally, BESS assets reduce extreme price volatility, a benefit already observed in comparable large-scale batteries.
• For households & SMEs - this will increase reliability and reduce peak-period volatility, leading to more affordable energy costs than without storage.
• Community benefit – the project created dozens of jobs during construction and supports ongoing skilled roles in operations and maintenance.
• Homes equivalent – the battery stores enough energy to power ~400,000 homes for one hour at peak demand.

Commenting on the Ulinda Park BESS becoming operational, Nick Carter, CEO, Akaysha Energy, said:

“With Ulinda Park up and running, and the CIS-backed expansion progressing, we’re turning the Western Downs into a major storage hub. That means a steadier grid for Queenslanders and new tools for retailers and big energy users to manage risk and keep energy costs under control."

“It’s thanks to the hard work of the entire project team, especially our project partners, Consolidated Power Projects, Hitachi Energy, Wilson Transformer Company and Re2, that we were able to reach this significant milestone.”

Next phase: Ulinda Park Expansion

Akaysha was recently awarded a Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) contract for the Ulinda Park Expansion (c. 195 MW / 780 MWh), which will lift the site to c.350 MW / ~1,078 MWh on completion, further boosting firming capacity for Queensland’s network.