The NSW government, through the Energy Corporation of NSW (EnergyCo), is powering ahead with the development of the Waratah Super Battery, bringing NSW closer to a more reliable energy future as coal-fired power stations, such as Eraring, bring forward their retirement dates.
At around 700 megawatts, the Waratah Super Battery will be the largest standby network battery in the Southern Hemisphere and will allow homes and businesses in NSW to immediately access more energy before major transmission upgrades connecting the Renewable Energy Zones are delivered.
The project has recently been identified by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) as an “actionable NSW project,” which means that it considers the development of the Waratah Super Battery should commence as soon as possible.
EnergyCo expects to finalise a competitive tender process to identify suitable battery developers and suitable sites for the Waratah Super Battery by the end of the year. One of the sites under consideration is the former Munmorah Power Station, which has not been operating since 2012.
On September 2 this year, the NSW minister for planning declared the potential development of the Waratah Super Battery on the Munmorah site as “Critical State Significant Infrastructure” which also recognises the crucial role the project will have in ensuring NSW’s energy security.
EnergyCo will lodge a comprehensive Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the potential development of the project at Munmorah with the Department of Planning and Environment before the end of the year.
The EIS will then be placed on public exhibition to ensure that local communities have an opportunity to comment on the project before any final decision is made by the NSW government.
Importantly, the Waratah Super Battery would also generate significant capital investment in the region and create more than 100 jobs during construction. It’s just one of the NSW government’s initiatives that will directly support job creation in the energy industry in the Hunter and Central Coast regions.
EnergyCo will continue to engage with local communities on the delivery of the Waratah Super Battery, with further opportunities available to make a formal submission on the project once the EIS is placed on public exhibition later this year.
Further information on the project will be available on the DPE’s major projects website here.
Further information about EnergyCo’s other projects and programs across the Renewable Energy Zones can be found on our website at www.energyco.nsw.gov.au.
Mike Young is the executive director of planning and communities at the Energy Corporation of NSW.
