newy.com.au – Construction has begun on a grid-scale battery at Newcastle’s Steel River industrial estate, the first of eight NSW projects planned by PLUS Grid Storage.
The Steel River East Battery Energy Storage System is expected to begin operating in late 2027. It will use 112 Tesla Megapack 2XL units to store electricity during periods of lower demand and return it to the grid when needed.
PLUS Grid says the units, when fully charged, will collectively hold enough electricity to supply about 27,000 homes for a day.
The NSW government’s Energy Security Corporation is supporting the development through a $100 million investment in PLUS Grid’s broader battery program across Sydney, Newcastle and the Hunter Central Coast.
A sod-turning ceremony on Friday marked the formal start of construction at Steel River East, PLUS Grid’s first grid-scale battery project. The company says seven more projects are planned across NSW, although it has not announced their individual locations or delivery dates.
The first 500MW of storage is expected to be operating by early 2029, with a further 150MW due to be added in late 2029.
PLUS Grid executive Kelly Wood said batteries would play a greater role in balancing electricity supply as more renewable generation was connected to the network.
“Battery storage is becoming increasingly important as more renewable energy enters the grid,” Ms Wood said.
Each battery unit weighs about 38 tonnes and measures 8.8 metres long, 1.6 metres deep and 2.7 metres high. Construction is expected to require about 2200 cubic metres of concrete and more than 200 tonnes of reinforcing steel.
The project is being delivered with SCEE Electrical, a subsidiary of national electrical and communications contractor SCEE Group.
SCEE Electrical chief executive Geoff Baudains said the company was preparing to begin work and would focus on safely delivering the project for Newcastle and the wider NSW electricity network.
