BESS · Elgin Energy Pty Ltd · Storage - Battery
03 Jun 2026 22:20 → 04 Jun 2026 22:20 AEST
| Capex total (greenfield) |
$257.00M
Shown in table How this was derived Reference |
|---|---|
| Capex refurbishment |
—
|
| Capex / MWh storage |
$514,000
Shown in table How this was derived Reference |
| Fixed OPEX (annual) |
$2.57M
Shown in table How this was derived Reference |
| Fixed OPEX / MW-yr |
$10,280
Shown in table How this was derived Reference |
| Variable OPEX / MWh |
$0.00
Shown in table How this was derived Reference |
| Fuel cost / GJ |
$0.00
Shown in table How this was derived Reference |
| Heat rate GJ/MWh |
—
How this was derived Reference |
Confidence: medium · Status: ai estimated · Capex basis: default · AI checked 04 Jun 2026
Notes
Project-specific BESS-only capex was not found. The selected financial capex is an estimate based on CSIRO GenCost 2024-25 / Aurecon 2024-25 large-scale 2-hour battery current cost of AUD 608/kWh, multiplied by the stated 500 MWh storage capacity: AUD 304 million. This equals AUD 1.216 million/MW for a 250 MW / 500 MWh, 2-hour BESS. An official planning report states the hybrid Barwon facility represents over AUD 500 million of investment into regional Victoria, but that figure covers the wider solar-plus-storage project and is not allocated to the battery. Fixed O&M was not located in public project-specific sources and is left null. Variable O&M is set to 0 as a default for battery storage; actual dispatch cost is driven by charging energy opportunity cost, degradation/cycling cost, warranties and market participation strategy. Major closure/refurbishment notes: no Barwon-specific closure or refurbishment plan was found; GHD/AEMO indicates large-scale BESS OEM design life is commonly up to 20 years and retirement for a 200 MW/2-hour BESS is estimated at AUD 49,000/MW, with 16 weeks demolition/dismantling plus mobilisation/demobilisation and short decommissioning/rehabilitation periods. Applying that retirement benchmark to 250 MW implies about AUD 12.25 million end-of-life cost, not included in capex.
Specific BESS-only capex, O&M contract, battery supplier, augmentation plan, DUID, and commercial operation date were not found in public sources. The project is identified as a proposed/approved hybrid solar and storage project near Geelong/Little River. Public project sources conflict on solar capacity: Victorian planning and Elgin state 330 MWp solar with a 250 MWac BESS, while Infrastructure Pipeline states 250 MW solar and 250 MW/500 MWh battery and says the solar generation scope was reduced from 330 MW to 250 MW in the March 2025 priority-list process. The BESS financial assumptions above are therefore default estimates based on CSIRO GenCost 2025-26 draft 2026 current-policies large-scale 2-hour battery cost of AUD 514/kWh. This produces estimated BESS capex of AUD 257 million for 500 MWh. Fixed O&M is estimated at 1% of capex per year because no Barwon-specific O&M was available. Reported project-level investment of over AUD 500 million appears to cover the overall solar farm plus BESS and has not been allocated to the battery. No closure date was found; asset life uses AEMO battery-life modelling assumption of 20 years, with degradation/augmentation likely but not project-specific.
Barwon is a proposed hybrid solar plus BESS project at Balliang/Little River, Victoria. Current public sources confirm the BESS storage capacity as 500 MWh and project generation capacity as 250 MW under CIS Tender 1; Elgin's earlier development approval announcement described the hybrid project as 330 MWp solar plus 250 MWac BESS. No generator-specific financial close, EPC contract value, OEM, fixed O&M contract, variable O&M, battery warranty cost, DUID, online date, or closure date was found. Capex and O&M are therefore estimated using Aurecon 2024 AEMO GenCost assumptions for a 2-hour, co-located large-scale lithium-ion BESS: AUD 471/kW power component plus AUD 314/kWh energy component, scaled to 250 MW / 500 MWh, plus a pro-rata AUD 12.5 million land/development allowance based on the Aurecon AUD 10 million assumption for a 200 MW BESS. Estimated EPC-only capex before land/development is AUD 274.75 million. Routine fixed O&M excludes extended warranty; adding Aurecon's 2-hour extended warranty allowance of AUD 5,300/MW-year would raise annual fixed-like O&M to about AUD 3.325 million. Direct operational emissions are set to zero because the BESS has no combustion fuel; charged-energy scope 2 emissions depend on the charging mix and are not included. Major refurbishment/closure: no project-specific refurbishment or closure plan found; Aurecon notes 20-year economic/technical life, potential extension to about 25 years after condition assessment, and possible life extension with battery upgrades.