Danish energy giant backs Summerfield, South Australia's first giga-scale battery project, near Mannum

A concept for the Summerfield giga-scale battery project, near Mannum of the River Murray in South Australia. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ was working with Canadian Solar’s e-Storage and Origin Energy, Australian biggest energy company, on the project.

Danish energy giant Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners started work on Summerfield, South Australia’s first giga-scale battery project, near Mannum on the River Murray in early 2025.

The battery, at 240 MW (megawatts) and 960 MWh, (megawatt hours)  around 55 kilometres east of Adelaide was expected to add much-needed storage to boost reliability and security in South Australia as it charged towards its target of “net” 100 % renewables by 2027. The Summerfield project included a transmission link that will boost the capacity of the South Australia’s southeast renewable zone to 600 megawatts.

Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners was one of the world’s biggest renewable energy investors. Summerfield was its first battery project in Australia.

Summerfield battery would feature Canadian Solar’s e-Storage battery technology that the Canadian group would build and operate under a 20-year deal. A 10-year off-take agreement was signed with Origin Energy, Australia’s biggest energy retailer. Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ Australian head Jørn Hammer said the company was proud to work with Canadian Solar’s e-Storage and Origin Energy to support the South Australian government’s 100% renewable energy ambitions.

South Australian government energy minister Tom Koutsantonis said it was pleasing that Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners’ first Australian battery project was being built in South Australia: “A four-hour 240MW battery can store enough energy to power at least 50,000 South Australian homes a day It will also have local benefits for the southeast.”

Origin’s head of supply and operations Greg Jarvis said that, with Summerfield,  the company would own or contract a battery storage asset in each state in the National Electricity Market. It also was the biggest contract for Canadian Solar’s e-Storage in Australia.

Summerfield was one of a half dozen big battery projects being developed in the state, including Bungama and on the Limestone Coast.South Australia had sourced 72% of its local demand needs from wind and solar during 2024, and it intended to reach “net” 100% renewables by 2027, making it the world’s first major grid to reach that milestone. Besides producing enough wind and solar to meet average demand needs, it would import and export from and to other states, including via the new transmission link to New South Wales.

• Information from Renew Economy website.