The Waratah Super Battery in New South Wales will be connected to the grid by Transgrid, following $150 million in upgrades and $30 million for a control system, in order to ensure energy security following the closure of Eraring Power Station.
The New South Wales Government has issued a formal direction to Transgrid as Network Operator to carry out the Waratah Super Battery Priority Transmission Infrastructure Project, including designing a $30 million control system to trigger the battery into operation when additional energy is required.
The super battery, which is the largest standby network battery in the Southern Hemisphere, will allow Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong consumers to access more energy from existing electricity generation from regional New South Wales while new renewable energy zones and transmission connections are completed. It will also serve consumers when outages occur.
Transgrid CEO, Brett Redman, welcomed the New South Wales Minister for Energy’s legislative direction to help deliver the critical Waratah Super Battery project.
“We are fully committed to ensuring a more reliable, affordable and sustainable energy supply for Australians as we work with the Government to accelerate the transition to a clean energy future,” Mr Redman said.
“Transgrid welcomes the Government’s vote of confidence in our ability to help deliver this critical infrastructure which includes connecting the Waratah Super Battery to the grid via our existing Munmorah substation.
“As part of the project we will carry out $150 million in upgrades to existing transmission lines and substations to enable additional energy generated in regional New South Wales to be delivered to consumers.
“Transgrid will also develop, install and operate a $30 million System Integrity Protection Scheme to monitor the network for disruptions, trigger the super battery into action when required, and dial down energy elsewhere in the grid to balance supply.
“The co-location of the super battery and our substation will bring new life and jobs to the retired Munmorah coal-fired power station site as well as ensuring additional energy is located near high growth areas including the burgeoning Lake Macquarie and Central Coast regions.
“The Waratah Super Battery is part of the Government’s Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap which is bringing together transmission, generation, storage and firming infrastructure to ensure we can pivot away from old world coal towards new, clean energy sources.
“Transgrid is fully supportive of this recently declared Critical State Infrastructure and we are proud to be a key partner in implementing the New South Wales Government’s Energy Roadmap.”
