newy.com.au – Work on a 200-megawatt battery at Newcastle’s Steel River Industrial Estate is expected to start next month after the NSW Government’s Energy Security Corporation chose a major battery rollout across Sydney, Newcastle and the Hunter Central Coast for its first investment.
The $100 million investment will support construction of four large-scale batteries as NSW prepares for the retirement of ageing coal-fired power stations and seeks to strengthen electricity reliability in high-demand parts of the network.
The first two batteries will be 200MW projects at Steel River in Newcastle and Homebush in Sydney. Two further batteries, with capacities of about 100MW and 150MW, will also be built as part of the platform.
Combined, the four projects will have the capacity to power up to 118,000 homes a day. The first 500MW of storage is expected to be operating by early 2029, with a further 150MW due to be added in late 2029. The broader battery network is expected to reach up to 1GW of capacity by 2031.
The Energy Security Corporation was established by the Minns Labor Government to co-invest in large-scale storage and other infrastructure aimed at supporting a reliable and secure electricity system. The government says the battery platform will make use of existing electricity network infrastructure, helping accelerate delivery and reduce impacts on communities.
NSW Climate Change and Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said large-scale batteries were becoming an important part of the state’s energy system.
“Large-scale batteries are revolutionising NSW’s energy grid, delivering greater energy security and helping to drive down prices,” she said.
“With this first investment, the Minns Labor Government’s Energy Security Corporation is helping to accelerate more of these critical projects – helping keep power reliable and affordable for everyone across the state.”
Energy Security Corporation chief executive Paul Peters said the investment targeted one of the state’s most important demand areas.
“This is a platform investment in one of the state’s most critical load centres, where demand is highest, land is constrained and the need for storage is most immediate,” he said.
“PLUS Grid Storage’s ability to deliver these projects by 2029, while making better use of existing infrastructure, were critical factors in our decision to invest in this battery platform.”
The batteries will be delivered by PLUS Grid Storage, a separate entity within the Ausgrid Group responsible for building, owning and operating distribution-connected battery storage. It operates independently from Ausgrid’s regulated network business.
Kelly Wood, the executive in charge of PLUS Grid Storage, said the investment would speed up development of storage infrastructure across Sydney, Newcastle and the Hunter Central Coast.
“We welcome the Energy Security Corporation’s investment in our program to deliver large-scale batteries which will accelerate the development of critical storage infrastructure across Sydney, Newcastle and the Hunter Central Coast,” she said.
“These partnerships are essential to delivering the next generation of energy infrastructure for NSW and ensuring customers continue to have access to reliable and affordable electricity as the energy system changes.”
