Australia Powers On First 8-Hour Tesla Megapack Battery — SkimNews
Get the Energy newsletter
Daily energy & climate — solar, EVs, oil, the policy fights and tech bets shaping the transition. Free.
- RWE's Limondale battery switched on in NSW as Australia's first 8-hour grid battery, with 144 Tesla Megapacks delivering 50 MW / 400 MWh of capacity near Balranald.
- The Limondale system charges at roughly 100 MW but discharges at only 50 MW, soaking up midday solar glut and stretching that energy across the evening peak and into the night.
- NSW's Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap funded the project through its first long-duration storage tender, with a Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA) providing the government revenue floor that made financing bankable.
- AEMO granted final operational sign-off earlier this year, and Limondale is now registered and trading on the National Electricity Market.
- Two more LTESA-backed 8-hour batteries are moving through the NSW pipeline behind Limondale, and Tesla's Megapack energy business — with deals including a 500 MWh Texas project and a 1 GWh UK installation — is among the company's fastest-growing segments.
Why it matters: The 8-hour duration directly addresses the duck curve, letting a solar-heavy grid carry midday generation through the 7 PM peak and into coal-retirement territory rather than just stabilizing frequency for two hours. With two more LTESA-backed 8-hour projects already in NSW's pipeline and Tesla's Megapack business among its fastest-growing segments, Limondale functions as both a grid proof of concept and a commercial template for long-duration storage.
Ask SkimNews
