Wärtsilä Completes Delivery of 1,038 Quantum Units to 1,400 MWh Wooreen BESS Project in Australia

Wärtsilä has completed the delivery of 1,038 Quantum battery units to EnergyAustralia's 1,400 MWh Wooreen battery energy storage system (BESS) in the Latrobe Valley, Victoria, Australia. Zenviron, the balance-of-plant contractor, described the delivery of the 1,038th and final unit as "a great achievement for the entire team" in a LinkedIn post.

The project is moving on to the remaining commissioning and grid connection works, with the aim of starting commercial operations in 2027. The Wooreen BESS will have a capacity of 350 MW/1,474 MWh and a four-hour storage duration. The project is being built adjacent to EnergyAustralia's Jeeralang Power Station and is expected to come online before the planned closure of the Yallourn coal-fired power station in mid-2028.

Finnish marine and energy technology group Wärtsilä was contracted to supply the BESS solution under an agreement made in the fourth quarter of 2024. The agreement includes engineering design, supply, installation, and a 15-year service agreement. The system will utilize Wärtsilä's Quantum High Energy hardware and the company's GEMS Digital Energy Platform, and is designed to operate in grid-forming mode.

When Wärtsilä introduced its Quantum High Energy product in late 2023, it announced that the product has 9% higher energy density than the previous generation, and also provides improved fire safety with the use of 306Ah lithium-ion cells. This higher energy density reduces the number of units required per site, making it easier to deliver large-scale projects like Wooreen.

EnergyAustralia sold a 50% stake in the 1,400 MWh Wooreen BESS to Thai energy company Banpu Public Company in July 2025, in a deal worth around AUD 700 million (USD 490 million), with Banpu to provide an equity injection of AUD 110 million.

The construction program at Wooreen has required the involvement of multiple contractors working in parallel work streams since February 2025. Zenviron, a joint venture between engineering group Monadelphous and renewable energy developer ZEM Energy, won the balance-of-plant contract, which includes design, construction, installation, and commissioning.

The Wooreen project received support in the first round of the Australian government's Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS). EnergyAustralia's wider storage portfolio extends beyond Wooreen, and the company reached financial close on a 50 MW/250 MWh Hallett BESS in South Australia in February 2026.

The completion of battery installation at Wooreen brings the project to the cusp of commissioning. This phase involves the gradual energization, testing, and integration of individual units into the site control systems, typically done in blocks rather than all at once for the 1,038 units.

Source: Energy Storage News