Today Lithgow takes another leap toward being a clean energy hub with EnergyAustralia announcing a new mega-battery at its coal-fired power station site.
“Clean energy investment in the Central West is really on a roll,” Nature Conservation Council Policy Director Dr Brad Smith.
“Six pumped-hydro and battery projects that are in the pipeline will have a combined on-demand capacity of almost double Lithgow’s aging Mt Piper coal-fired power station.
“This is huge step towards cleaning up the electricity sector in NSW and helping rein in climate change disasters.”
EnergyAustralia’s proposed Mt Piper battery will have a capacity of 500 MW, enough to power more than 200,000 homes for up to four hours during times of high demand. [1]
Lithgow Environment Group spokesperson Julie Favell says: “We’ve been calling on Energy Australia to build a battery on their site for months!
“Clean energy projects like this mean there’s no reason to keep destroying our spectacular natural areas with future mining,” Julie Favell said.
The announcement brings to 2,675 MW the amount of flexible generation capacity in the pipeline for in the Central West, which is more than the 1,400 MW currently provided by Mount Piper coal-fired power station.
On-demand clean energy projects in the Central West
|
Facility |
Owner |
Location |
Capacity |
|
Mt Piper Battery |
EnergyAustralia |
Mt Piper (Lithgow) |
500 MW / 4 hrs |
|
Central West Pumped Hydro |
ACTO Energy
|
Yetholme (Bathurst) |
325 MW / 8 hrs |
|
Lake Lyell Pumped-Hydro |
Energy Australia |
Lithgow |
350 MW / 8 hrs |
|
Great Western Battery |
Neoen |
Lithgow (Wallerawang) |
500 MW / 2 hrs |
|
Wellington South Battery |
AMPYR |
Wellington South |
500 MW / 2 hrs |
|
Wallerawang 9 Battery |
Greenspot |
Lithgow (Wallerawang) |
500 MW / 2 hrs |
|
TOTAL |
|
|
2675 MW |
“With Putin’s war sending coal and gas prices to stratospheric levels, the only way to shield Australian homes and businesses from global prices is to get these clean energy projects built quickly,” said Dr Smith.
“We’re calling on the NSW government to set a battery storage target for NSW to ensure these projects get built in a timely way.
“The six new energy storage projects in the Central West have the advantage of being able to store energy as well as generate electricity, meaning they can help the grid by soaking up cheap solar power on sunny days and storing it for later use. Coal power stations don't help in that situation.” Dr Smith said.