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At All-Energy Australia 2026, Tesla’s Ben Bannister called the market for eight-hour battery storage shaped by current policy requirements “completely artificial,” while arguing that asymmetric registration can improve project economics. The Limondale battery can discharge at 50MW for eight hours under its contract but charge at 100MW, allowing the additional capacity to compete in ancillary services markets.
Tesla’s Ben Bannister said Australia’s market for eight-hour battery storage is “completely artificial” under current procurement settings, but argued that asymmetric registration can make projects more viable by adding revenue beyond their contracted discharge service. He pointed to the 50MW/400MWh Limondale battery in New South Wales, which can charge at 100MW while meeting an eight-hour discharge requirement.
Bannister made the comments at All-Energy Australia 2026, where he described a difficult revenue environment for the renewables sector. He said falling wholesale prices were, in part, an outcome the industry had sought, and argued that storage developers need to rethink how they use batteries. “We just got to repivot the use case for storage,” he said, describing storage as a flexible asset.
Australia’s best-known long-duration procurement programme is New South Wales’ Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA), which requires eight hours of dispatch. South Australia’s Firm Energy Reliability Mechanism (FERM) is another scheme Bannister discussed. The latest NSW LTESA round awarded agreements to six battery projects with a combined 1.17GW of power capacity and 12GWh of energy capacity, according to the source report.
Limondale, near Balranald, has 50MW of discharge capacity for eight hours, meeting its LTESA obligation. But its registration allows it to charge at 100MW. Bannister said the additional 50MW can be offered into ancillary services markets, creating a separate potential revenue stream. The project, developed by RWE with Tesla Megapacks, was opened in June 2026, according to the report.
How Extra Charging Capacity Changes Returns
The example addresses a core challenge for long-duration batteries: a project may be contracted to deliver power over many hours, while its equipment and operating profile leave opportunities to earn revenue elsewhere. Bannister said an eight-hour battery used only to satisfy its contracted dispatch requirement can have low capacity utilisation and leave commercial value untapped.
Asymmetric registration may let a battery keep its contracted discharge capability while using greater charging capacity for other grid services. Bannister said that extra capability can support ancillary services and, in his account, provide inertial response and system strength. Those additional uses could improve the economics of projects competing for eight-hour contracts, although the source does not provide independent financial analysis or quantify the revenue uplift.
Charging capacity also affects costs. Bannister said renewable generation often produces a roughly four-hour daily window of low-cost, sometimes negatively priced electricity. If a battery cannot charge quickly enough during that period, it may need to buy energy at higher prices, weakening its business case. The Limondale configuration illustrates one response, but it does not establish that the same approach will suit every project or market contract.
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Australia’s Long-Duration Procurement
The debate comes as Australia has become the world’s third-largest utility-scale battery storage market, behind the United States and China, according to the Clean Energy Council, the industry body that hosts All-Energy Australia. At the same time, Bannister described sector revenues as under pressure and pointed to longer-term electricity demand from electrification, electric vehicles, electric trucking and data centres.
In NSW, the LTESA programme specifies eight hours of dispatch for eligible long-duration storage. South Australia’s first FERM tender was technology-neutral, but contracts ultimately went to battery projects, according to the source report. These procurement choices help explain why developers are building batteries with longer discharge durations and looking for ways to earn income beyond the contracted service.
Bannister also argued that batteries could help ease some transmission constraints while new lines are built, and discussed using storage alongside large data centres. He presented these as possible applications, not replacements for all network investment. He acknowledged that new transmission remains necessary.
“We just got to repivot the use case for storage.”
— Ben Bannister, Tesla, speaking at All-Energy Australia 2026
Revenue Gains Remain Unquantified
The source report does not give a measured revenue increase for Limondale from asymmetric registration, nor does it establish whether the project’s additional charging capacity has been used to earn a particular amount in ancillary services markets. Bannister’s comments describe a potential commercial advantage, not a published project-performance assessment.
It is also unclear how widely the same registration arrangement can be applied to other batteries. Outcomes are likely to depend on project design, market rules, connection limits and the terms of individual contracts; the available material does not detail those conditions. The claims about transmission capacity and data-centre load management are likewise Bannister’s proposals and examples, not confirmed network plans or operating results.
The supplied report ends during Bannister’s discussion of data centres, so it does not provide the rest of his comments on the issue or any further response from project owners, regulators or market operators.
Project Results and Market Rules
The next evidence to watch is whether Limondale or other LTESA-backed projects disclose operating results showing how much value they obtain from capacity outside their contracted service. Further information about registration arrangements and participation in ancillary services markets would help establish whether the approach can be replicated.
Developers will also be watching subsequent NSW and South Australian procurement rounds and any changes to market rules or contract terms that affect how long-duration batteries can charge, discharge and offer grid services. No specific rule change or follow-up announcement is identified in the source material.
Key Questions
What does asymmetric registration mean in this case?
At Limondale, the battery is registered to discharge at 50MW and charge at 100MW. The difference gives it additional charging capacity beyond what is needed to meet its eight-hour discharge obligation.
What is the eight-hour requirement?
The NSW Long-Term Energy Service Agreement programme requires contracted storage to deliver power for eight hours. Limondale’s 50MW discharge capacity across eight hours corresponds to its 400MWh energy capacity.
How could the additional capacity earn revenue?
Bannister said the extra charging capacity can be offered into ancillary services markets. The source does not report a specific revenue amount or confirm how much income Limondale has earned through that route.
Does asymmetric registration remove the need for new transmission?
No. Bannister described batteries as a way to help manage some transmission constraints, but said new transmission infrastructure is still needed. His examples are proposals rather than confirmation that particular network upgrades have been avoided.
Source: energy-storage.news
