NSW gives planning approval for giant 2 GWh battery at site of state’s likely last coal generator

The New South Wales government says it has given approval for a giant battery project at Mt Piper, near Lithgow, at the site of what could well be the last coal fired power station to close in the state.

The plan for a 500 megawatt (MW), 2,000 megawatt hour (MWh) is being proposed by Mt Piper owner EnergyAustralia, one of a number of storage projects in its development portfolio, including the neighbouring Lake Lyell pumped hydro project.

EnergyAustralia hopes to begin construction of the big battery in 2026, and it will follow other coal plant owners in NSW – including AGL’s Liddell facility and Origin’s Eraring facility – in building massive batteries at the site of shuttered or soon to be closed coal fired power generators.

The state is also building the 850 MW, 1680 MWh Waratah Super Battery at the site of the shuttered Munmorah coal fired generator on the central coast, while two different battery projects have been proposed for the site of the shuttered Wallerawang coal generator near Lithgow.

EnergyAustralia estimates that the battery project will inject around $1 billion into the NSW economy, and employ 177 people in the construction phase.

“With a $1 billion price tag, this battery is among the biggest in Australia,” said Paul Scully, NSW’s minister for planning and public spaces.

“It stands ready to inject major capital investment, create jobs and provide Lithgow Council with $2 million to invest in local community projects.

“Large-scale batteries are crucial for our state’s energy future. They help store renewable energy, making sure that we have a reliable power supply even when the sun isn’t shining, or the wind isn’t blowing.

“This project not only supports our transition to cleaner energy but it also strengthens our energy security and resilience. Investing in these batteries means a more sustainable and dependable energy system for everyone.”

The Mt Piper coal fired power generator is currently due to close in 2040, making it the last one standing in what remains the country’s biggest coal grid.

But most market analysts believe it will close well before that, although that also depends on the pace of new wind and solar capacity, and market conditions at the time. The Eraring, Vales Point and Bayswater coal generators are due to all close over the next nine years.

EnergyAustralia is hoping to build or contract around 3GW of new wind and solar capacity but is committing most of its energy to building new storage projects, including the Wooreen battery in the Latrobe Valley, near its Jeeralang gas plant, and the Hallett battery in South Australia, next to an existing gas plant.

The Wooreen project is currently slated to be sized at 350MW with four hours storage, while Hallett will initially measure in at 50MW/200MWh, with plans to triple its capacity to 150MW/600MWh down the track.

Both have won underwriting agreements with the federal government under a pilot tender of the Capacity Investment Scheme, and it is likely that the Mt Piper battery will also be submitted in current and future tenders.