Testing pods

Overview

The Deer Park BESS (previously Melbourne Grid Battery) is a critical piece of energy infrastructure that will enable greater system strength and reliability for Victoria, supporting the state's energy transition.

The Deer Park Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) has been developed by Lumea, and is now under development with Akaysha Energy. The BESS will be located at the Deer Park Energy Hub and substation, a key source of electricity supply for metropolitan Melbourne. It will be one of the few batteries in the National Electricity Market to be located on the load side, close to a source of high energy demand.

Lumea, which sits as part of Transgrid group, has a substantial land asset at Deer Park with available bays and adequate network capacity. Transgrid is the transmission network service provider for NSW and the ACT, as well as a declared transmission system operator in Victoria.

Purpose

Australia’s energy transition is seeing significant change in the energy landscape in the shift to renewable energy, and the infrastructure that is required to get there. Batteries are playing an important role supporting this transition.
The Deer Park BESS will also optimise the use of renewable energy generation in Victoria and across the National Energy Market by providing energy storage services and supplying energy when most needed, and may also offer services to support grid reliability and system support.

Lumea showcases the talent and creativity of the region’s youth, fostering the next generation of scientists, engineers, and innovators who’ll lead our clean energy transition.

Sabooh Whitelaw - Lumea’s Director of Emerging Market Development

Project Timeline

DeerParkBESS-timeline.png

Challenge

Demand for reliable, clean energy is increasing across NSW, Victoria, South Australia, and Queensland. By expanding the current Snowy Scheme and building additional transmission lines between the states, energy users from South Australia to Queensland will benefit from the energy and storage that Snowy 2.0 will provide.

The Snowy Scheme is the largest pumped hydro facility in Australia, requiring bespoke transmission connection infrastructure.

Key Benefits

Engagement

We are committed to genuine and purposeful engagement that puts listening and responding to the community at the heart of our approach. 

From 2025, Akaysha Energy are managing the engagement for Deer Park BESS. For more information please visit their community portal here.

Understanding

Local community, First Nations people and other key stakeholders have been consulted as part of the development of the project since 2015. In 2023, we engaged with the community surrounding Deer Park Terminal Station to understand the priorities, perspectives and needs of the Melton community. 

More Information

For any questions, concerns, or more information please email the Akaysha Energy community team at community@akayshaenergy.com.

Resources


Environment Documents

Every project carries technical, regulatory and commercial pressure. Our role is to absorb that complexity—so you can focus on what’s next, not what might go wrong

STCP Environmental Impact Statement Documents

Environmental Impact Statement Executive Summary (PDF 327.20KB)

Document 2 link

Document 2 link

Working for us

A number of jobs will be created during the course of the project. Please visit our delivery partner, UGL’s website for job opportunities.

For more information on UGL's application process, click here. 

FAQs

Who does Lumea work with?

Lumea works with renewable energy developers, battery and storage providers, data centre operators, large industrial customers, telecommunications carriers, government agencies and enterprise businesses. If your project needs to connect to the grid, stay connected or be monitored reliably, we're built for it.

Lumea operates across the eastern seaboard; NSW, VIC, QLD, ACT and South Australia, with a particular focus on regional and remote locations where infrastructure complexity is highest.

Yes. Lumea is an approved provider under the NSW Government Telecommunications Purchasing Arrangement (TPA) and Local Government Panels, making procurement straightforward for public sector customers.

We connect wind farms, solar farms, grid-scale batteries, pumped hydro projects, data centres and major industrial sites to the National Electricity Market.

No. We also provide standalone asset management for existing energy infrastructure, including assets Lumea wasn't involved in building, as well as telecommunications services for sites that are already connected to the grid but need better data and operational visibility.

Yes. Lumea is part of the Transgrid Group, giving us access to transmission-grade capability, established supply chains and deep regulatory relationships across the Australian energy market.