Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia (SREA), the Australian renewables and energy storage arm of South Korea's Samsung C&T, wants to build an 80 MW / 320 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) near Finley in south-west New South Wales. Since it started work in Australia in 2022, SREA has taken on solar and storage project interests in New South Wales, Victoria and Queensland.

Named the South Coree BESS, the project would be built on private land on Broockmanns Road, about 5 km west of the township of Finley, within the Berrigan Shire Council area. According to an earlier report, the site covers 13.8 hectares in the NSW Riverina Murray Region.

Up to 80 MW of power could flow from the battery, and it could hold as much as 320 MWh, enough for four hours of discharge at full power. On the site there would be battery enclosures, inverters, transformers, switchgear and a control room, and the on-site substation would keep its transformer switch bays and switchgear in portable substation containers.

Once in operation, the system would store energy during times of low demand and dispatch it at times of peak demand. SREA has said that the battery would also help to maintain grid stability by turning on and off in fractions of a second, and, according to its application, it would better integrate the contribution of renewable energy sources.

To reach the network, the BESS would connect directly into the 132 kV Finley substation through underground or overhead 132 kV transmission lines, and the project would also involve upgrade works at the substation to facilitate that connection.

Work on the approvals began in mid-2024, when SREA began engaging with the community and stakeholders. The NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure (DPHI) treats the proposal as a State Significant Development, and the Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements reached SREA on 27 November 2024. The federal government was then given the project to assess under the EPBC Act in April 2025. The Environmental Impact Statement was placed on public exhibition in late 2025, after which a Submissions Report was completed to analyse the issues raised in public and government agency submissions. The project is now under assessment by DPHI, and a determination is expected in 2026.

Construction is estimated to need up to 60 workers, and SREA requires all contractors working on the development to hire local contractors and use local suppliers wherever possible. Approximately one to two ongoing roles would be created during operations, and the company is also proposing a Voluntary Planning Agreement with Berrigan Shire Council, which it says will deliver significant community investments in the region over the project's life.