Global law firm White & Case LLP has advised Atmos Renewables on the project financing of the Merredin Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Western Australia, marking a major milestone as Atmos’s first greenfield energy storage project in the state and its inaugural battery storage venture.
The Merredin BESS, co-developed with Nomad Energy, boasts a capacity of 100 MW/400 MWh and is strategically located about 230 kilometres east of Perth in the Wheatbelt region.
This facility will provide four hours of dispatchable energy storage, delivering critical support to the grid and strengthening energy security for both the Wheatbelt and Eastern Goldfields areas.
“This was Atmos Renewables’ first greenfield energy storage project to achieve a final investment decision, and being able to utilise its existing portfolio financing structure to finance the asset meant that financial close could be achieved in an efficient manner on favourable portfolio terms,” said White & Case partner Joel Rennie, who led the transaction.
“We have seen an increasing number of sophisticated top tier renewables developers utilising their existing portfolio financing arrangements to add greenfield projects to their portfolios, whether this be through internal development or M&A activity, and Atmos Renewables now joins that group.”
Upon completion, the Merredin BESS is expected to become the first major project in Western Australia constructed under the Australian government’s Capacity Investment Scheme, an initiative targeting 82 per cent renewable energy in Australia’s electricity mix by 2030.
The project, set to be Atmos’s 18th operational asset, underscores the company’s ongoing diversification and expansion across the renewables sector.
Atmos Renewables is fully owned by infrastructure funds managed by Igneo Infrastructure Partners.
Construction will commence following the financial close finalised on 30 June 2025.
The project will connect to Western Power’s South West Interconnected System (SWIS) via the Merredin Terminal Station, using advanced Tesla Megapack technology and is expected to create dozens of jobs in the region during its development phase.