The NSW Government has begun the tender process for the Waratah Super Battery and Central Coast Labor MPs want to see it installed at the former Lake Munmorah power station.
The 700MW battery is designed to boost the energy supply for consumers in Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong – the main load centres in NSW – and prepare the network for the 2025 closure of Eraring Power Station.
Treasurer and Energy Minister, Matt Kean, said it would be the largest standby network battery in the southern hemisphere, carrying extra transmission capacity to handle power surges from bushfires or lighting strikes.
“The Waratah Super Battery will allow for more electricity to flow through the network, unlocking this excess capacity and supplying the families and businesses of NSW a reliable and stable energy supply,” Kean said.
He said more than 30 proposals from around the globe were received at the Expressions of Interest stage, with innovative solutions and site options to build the battery on NSW Government land, including the former Munmorah Power Station site.
The first stage of the tender process is to find potential project developers and sites.
The process is being run by EnergyCo and contracts are expected to be awarded later this year.
Swansea MP and Shadow Minister for the Hunter, Yasmin Catley, said the Munmorah site would be the ideal location for the Waratah Super Battery as much of the necessary infrastructure is already in place.
“The Battery would take advantage of the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone which has received over $100B in investor interest, and will be the beating heart of our new clean energy economy,” she said.
“The Treasurer sees the benefit of locating the battery at the Munmorah site and it would not only create jobs during construction but would provide 10 to 14 ongoing jobs.
“The battery would help turbo-charge the potential of the site for not just renewable energy but as a manufacturing precinct.
“We want to see the Government investing in good paying, secure jobs right here on the Coast,” Catley said.
She has written to the Treasurer and Energy Minister urging them to locate the battery at the old Munmorah site which has remained unused since the power station was demolished in 2017.
Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Jihad Dib, joined Catley and other Central Coast Labor MPs for a press conference at the Lake Munmorah site on June 3.
“As we move to different forms of energy we need to ensure affected communities are looked after with new jobs and this site also makes sense given the availability of existing energy infrastructure,” Dib said.
Sue Murray