New South Wales backs big battery projects
Sydney (16 June)
The New South Wales (NSW) Energy Security Corporation (ESC) – a state-owned lender – has agreed to invest A$100 million into four big battery (BESS) projects to accelerate energy decarbonisation and encourage private investment.
PLUS Grid Storage, a joint venture between three investment firms and the NSW Government, will install the four BESSs from 2029, Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said in a statement on 16 June.
Two of the four BESS projects, which have a combined capacity of 250 MW, are early-stage, potential developments that have not been approved, Lithos understands.
But PLUS Grid Storage plans to finish work on the other two projects – a pair of 200 MW BESS systems in Newcastle and Sydney, respectively – by 2029, Sharpe said. The company’s Newcastle BESS project will be able to power 27,000 homes each day when it opens.
The NSW Government created ESC to encourage private-sector investment in renewable energy. Its investments into PLUS Grid Storage’s projects are expected to support approximately A$800 million of capital spending, Lithos understands.
ESC plans to finance 1 GW of BESS storage by 2031, according to the NSW Government. It will also invest in network infrastructure and consumer-facing renewable energy projects.
NSW’s renewable investment plans come alongside Federal Government initiatives to support BESS developers.
The Federal Government has derisked 12 GW of BESS storage by offering developers revenue floors and caps – through its Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) – since 2024. It plans to back 40GW of BESS storage by 2030.
Developers added 4.4 GW of BESS storage to the National Energy Market (NEM) over the year to March, the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) said on 30 April. The additional storage helped push up the renewable share of NEM generation to a record 46.5% in January-March, it added.
“The significant increase in large‑scale and household battery capacity is changing how electricity is produced, consumed and priced across the day,” AEMO Executive General Manager Policy & Corporate Affairs Violette Mouchaileh said.
“Grid-scale batteries are increasingly absorbing excess renewable energy during the day and shifting it into the market during evening peaks,” Mouchaileh added.
By Avinash Govind