The Wellington Aboriginal community in NSW has secured an option for a 5% equity stake in a Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) project to be located on Wiradjuri Country, some 3km north-east of Wellington township in Central West NSW, called Bulabul Battery.
Developed in consultation with the Wellington Aboriginal Action Panel - WAAP, renewable energy assets developer AMPYR Australia has announced its long term partnership with the Wellington Aboriginal community, including supporting it to take a 5% equity stake in the 600MWh Wellington Battery (Stage 1 of the project), to be located next to the existing Wellington and Wellington North solar farms.
To assist the partnership, the Wambal Bila Indigenous Community Corporation was established, a new community organisation comprising members of the Wellington Aboriginal community. AMPYR Australia is providing up to $300,000 to support the Wambal Bila establish its initial operations.
The partnership and equity model is reportedly designed to provide Wambal Bila with a steady income stream and the opportunity to share in project revenues for the project’s lifetime. It also provides Wambal Bila with an entitlement to an annual priority distribution amount and the ability to share equally alongside the investor in project revenues.
Wambal Bila and AMPYR Australia will also seek to agree to a similar equity stake in the Bulabul Stage 2 BESS.
The 1,000 megawatt/hour (MWh) BESS project will be delivered in two stages:
- Stage 1 (300 MW / 600 MWh) is in the final stages of procurement and financing (as of February 2025) and is due for ‘energisation’ in 2026, and
- Stage 2 (100 MW / 400 MWh) is scheduled to be completed in 2027.
In July 2025, Ampyr Australia announced it had reached financial close on the stage 1 battery. The organisation reportedly relied on its backer, AGP Sustainable Real Assets, and millions in debt financing from the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Bank of China, Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation (HSBC), Rabobank, Societe Generale, and United Overseas Bank.
Stage 1 of the project is under construction.
The BESS project will connect to the TransGrid Wellington substation (via overhead or underground transmission lines) and is expected to energise 37,500 homes in Stage 1 and 25,000 in Stage 2, supporting additional wind and solar capacity in the adjacent Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).
The estimated total cost of this State Significant Development is A$545 million (figure from 2023).
The front cover image is an artists render of the proposed Wellington battery, from Ampyr.