Australian renewable energy company Ark Energy has received approval to connect its Richmond Valley Solar Farm and battery energy storage system (BESS) in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, to the National Electricity Market (NEM).
The hybrid project will be situated in northern NSW and has obtained its 5.3.4.A/B letters, confirming compliance with Generator Performance Standards.
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The connection approval was granted by Transgrid. This approval from the Australian Energy Market Operator and transmission network provider enables the project to link to the 330kV local network through a new switching station.
The project is located around 25km south of Casino and has planning permission for a solar farm of up to 500MW, or 435MW-alternating current (MWac) and a lithium-iron phosphate (LFP) battery system with up to 475MW of power.
Ark Energy CEO Michael Choi said: “We are thrilled to secure grid connection for the Richmond Valley Solar Farm and BESS. This is a huge achievement and takes us closer to reaching financial close on the project, and our goal of breaking ground in the coming months.
“This is a flagship project for Ark Energy and once operational it will make a significant contribution to electricity supply and grid stability for NSW and the NEM.”
According to Ark Energy, the approval follows detailed technical assessments. These included design changes, electrical system modelling, various simulations, studies of the network and collaborative workshops.
The Richmond Valley project will use grid-forming inverter technology. It is set to be among the first hybrid solar and BESS projects in the NEM with a single grid connection point.
Construction of the hybrid power project is targeted for later this year. Its first stage will comprise a 200MWac solar farm and an LFP BESS with 275MW/2.2GW-hours (GWh) of capacity.
In December 2025, the Richmond Valley project received approval from the Australian Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. The approval followed earlier development consent from the NSW Government.
The Richmond Valley Solar and BESS appears on the Australian Government’s initial National Renewable Energy Priority List and is Ark Energy’s second project in NSW to secure both state and Commonwealth approvals.
Ark Energy is engaged in developing a portfolio of large-scale renewable energy generation and storage projects in NSW, Queensland and Tasmania.
