Global law firm Ashurst has advised Snowy Hydro on its landmark 15-year Virtual Tolling Agreement (VTA) with Akaysha Energy for the 311MW/1244MWh Elaine Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Victoria. This is Snowy Hydro's first battery toll agreement and, at 220MW contracted capacity, is the largest four-hour virtual toll arrangement in Australia, setting a precedent for the sector.
The VTA will strengthen Snowy Hydro's ability to help manage wholesale market volatility while enhancing its product offering to mass-market, large-scale commercial and industrial, and wholesale customers.
For Snowy Hydro, the VTA structure delivers the benefits of physically building and operating a battery, without the capital, construction and operational burden, making it a highly capital-efficient solution.
The Elaine BESS is strategically located in South West Victoria, being relatively close to the large load centre of Melbourne and providing Snowy with transmission diversification benefits. The development of the Elaine BESS helps support reliable electricity supply to Victoria.
Partner Dale Gill said:
"We are delighted to have supported Snowy Hydro on their first battery offtake in the National Electricity Market. The VTA will supplement Snowy's existing long duration storage portfolio without the need to develop and operate the battery themselves. The VTA also marks a continued market shift towards alternative offtake models for storage assets."
The Ashurst team was led by partner Dale Gill who was supported by: partners Dan Brown and Chris Redden, senior associate Tristan Shepherd and associates Murray Rissik, Athena Krisanaleela, and Carl Franzmann (Projects & Energy Transition); and partner Geoff McGrath (Digital economy transactions).
