The biggest committed battery in the southern hemisphere – the NSW Waratah Super Battery – has been given the planning green light, helping to bolster energy security and put downward pressure on energy prices.
Treasurer and Minister for Energy Matt Kean said construction of the 850 megawatt Waratah Super Battery will now start and be completed by 2025 in advance of the earliest possible closure date of the Eraring coal-fired power station.
“The NSW Liberal and Nationals Government has the most ambitious renewable energy and storage plan in the country and the Waratah Super Battery is the first of many big energy projects to get underway,” Mr Kean said.
“While Chris Minns and NSW Labor run around creating fear about ‘the sun not shining and the wind not blowing’, we are focused on getting on with the job of building major renewable energy storage projects that we need to lower power prices and keep the grid reliable.
“The Liberal and Nationals Government’s pipeline of projects to ensure reliability and affordability is clear, however the Labor Party’s true plans for the State’s electricity system remain murky.
“For months, Chris Minns has repeatedly condemned private ownership of electricity infrastructure as the cause of higher electricity bills and vowed to bring back state ownership of power assets.”
Two days ago Chris Minns backtracked even further on his position by declaring on Channel 7’s Sunrise program:
“The private sector getting involved in renewable energy is a good thing.”
“Given Chris Minns’ relentless campaign against privatisation, questions remain over whether Labor still harbours a long-term plan to nationalise the NSW grid,” Mr Kean said.
Minister for Planning Anthony Roberts, welcomed the approval of the project, saying that it would be an important addition to the state’s energy mix.
“The Waratah Super Battery will drive up to $1 billion of private investment into NSW and is a key part of our long term renewable energy plans,” Mr Roberts said.
“The battery will play an important role in supporting the security of our electricity system and will help put our State on the map as a global leader in the energy transition.
“The Waratah Super Battery is well-suited for the State’s energy security needs because it is fast to roll out, has a relatively small footprint, repurposes land and connection infrastructure previously used for a coal-fired power station and will be able to respond almost instantly to disruptions in the energy system.
“There is no better time than the present to bolster our energy capacity and to upgrade the grid to ensure the households and businesses in NSW have energy that is cheaper, cleaner and more reliable.”
The Waratah Super Battery differs from other big batteries in the National Electricity Market (NEM), primarily operating as part of a System Integrity Protection Scheme (SIPS), acting as a “shock absorber” for the electricity transmission system, helping keep the grid reliable during bushfires and lighting strikes.
The battery is being delivered by Akaysha Energy in partnership with Transgrid and will be built on the site of the former Munmorah coal-fired power station, approximately 50 kilometres south of Newcastle.
The NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap is the nation’s most comprehensive plan to transform the energy system and will deliver some of the cheapest, cleanest and most reliable electricity infrastructure anywhere in the world by attracting $32 billion of private investment to NSW.
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