APAC BESS daily brief · 4 Nov 2026

JR Kyushu and Sumitomo Corp to build 16 MW/70 MWh battery in Isahaya, Nagasaki, for Dec 2028 operation

Denki no Eki GK, set up in 2023 by JR Kyushu, Sumitomo Corporation and Sumitomo Corporation Kyushu, will build a 16 MW, 70 MWh battery storage station in Isahaya, Nagasaki; preparatory work began in October and operation is planned for December 2028. It is the company's third site after two in Kumamoto and the largest in the Denki no Eki series.

• Output 16 MW (16,000 kW) and capacity 70 MWh (70,000 kWh), roughly the daily consumption of about 7,000 households.
• Sited on a former JR Kyushu railway substation and adjacent land along the line between Nishi-Isahaya and Kikitsu, about 3,600 m², with 14 containerised battery units.
• Preparatory works started in October; operation planned for December 2028. The companies announced it on the 28th (October); Nagasaki Shimbun reported it on 3 November.

• Investment amount, revenue streams (balancing market, wholesale, capacity market, long-term decarbonisation auction) and financing: not publicly disclosed.
• View: Reusing a railway's own substation sites can cut land and grid-connection costs; this landowner-plus-trading-house model could be repeated along other Japanese rail corridors.

Sources: 長崎新聞

India: Noida Power tenders 80 MW/320 MWh standalone BESS under 12-year BOOT model

Noida Power Company Limited (NPCL) issued a Request for Selection on 3 November for an 80 MW, four-hour, 320 MWh standalone BESS in Greater Noida, Uttar Pradesh. The project runs on a 12-year Build-Own-Operate-Transfer model, after which it transfers to NPCL for a nominal INR 1.

• 80 MW, four hours, 320 MWh at identified load centres; NPCL provides land on a right-to-use basis at INR 1 per plot per year.
• Minimum monthly availability of 95%, plus round-trip efficiency and annual degradation requirements.

• Earnest money of INR 7.40 lakh per MW by bank guarantee; a performance bank guarantee of INR 18.50 lakh per MW is due before signing the Battery Energy Storage Purchase Agreement (BESPA).
• Tariff and total project cost: not publicly disclosed.
• View: A distribution utility contracting storage directly on a 12-year BOOT basis gives a fixed contracted revenue line that suits project-finance debt.

• Single-stage, two-envelope process (techno-commercial and financial bids) followed by an e-reverse auction for eligible bidders.
• Bids of 20–80 MW in multiples of 20 MW; pre-bid meeting 18 November; online bids due 9 December 16:00, offline documents 11 December 16:00, with techno-commercial bids opened that day at 17:00.

Sources: SolarQuarter

New Zealand: Lightyears raises NZ$174m from Japan's Obayashi and Australia's Infradebt for 300 MW+ solar and battery pipeline

New Zealand developer Lightyears has secured NZ$174 million to fund more than 300 MW of utility-scale solar and battery projects over the next five years. The package combines $74 million of planned investment from Japan's Obayashi Corporation and a $100 million lending facility from Australian infrastructure lender Infradebt.

• Per B2B News, Lightyears runs eight sites of about 45 MW, with three more due online this year and six in 2027.
• Projects include the 14 MW Reefton solar farm (nearing completion), the 15 MW Te Aho o te Rā solar farm near Kuratau (a JV with eight Māori land trusts and related entities, due July 2027) and a 6 MW site near Ashburton.
• Battery MW/MWh: not publicly disclosed.

• Obayashi will take a 90% stake in new company LYOC1, which will hold solar project assets (Lightyears keeps 10%, per B2B News); capital is released in stages as projects reach development milestones, through March 2028 per B2B News.
• Per B2B News, Obayashi's board approved the purchase on 22 October through a new vehicle, OCE Investment New Zealand 1 Limited, for roughly JPY 6.6 billion.
• Infradebt first partnered with Lightyears in 2025, its first New Zealand transaction; the $100 million facility expands that relationship.
• View: Milestone-gated equity from a Japanese construction group paired with Australian infrastructure debt is a template for funding smaller APAC solar-and-storage platforms.

Sources: EVs & Beyond · B2B News