New South Wales approves 500-megawatt battery at closed coal plant

Renew Economy:

A huge 500MW/1000MWh battery at the site of the shuttered Wallerawang coal fired power station near Lithgow has won planning approval from NSW state government authorities.

The Wallerawang battery – to be developed by Greenspot – is one of the biggest of a number of big batteries proposed for NSW, the country’s biggest and most coal dependent grid, and which is plotting for a dramatic and rapid transition to renewables and storage.

Planning approval was announced by the state planning authority on Thursday, noting it was located on the site of a former 1240MW coal generator that closed in 2014, on land that contained a recently harvested pine plantation, was shielded from nearby homes, and is close to existing energy infrastructure.

The Department of Planning also noted that the project would require a capital investment of $404 million, create 100 construction jobs, and provide $2 million in community enhancement projects via the local council.

Greenspot is likely to develop the battery in at least two stages, firstly with a 300MW facility – most likely with two hour storage, depending on market conditions – and hopes it can become part of a new industrial facility at the site.

[Giles Parkinson]

More: Huge 1,000MWh battery at site of closed coal plant gets NSW planning approval