The Energy Security Corporation, the $1 billion green bank created by the NSW state Labor government, has announced its first investment – in four big battery projects – as it seeks to fill the gap created by anticipated coal closures.
The ESC announced on Tuesday that it will invest $100 million in the form of senior debt finance to fast-track four grid battery projects proposed by Plus Grid Storage, a wholly-owned offshoot of Australia’s biggest distribution network company Ausgrid.
Two of the batteries have been identified – Steel River in Newcastle and Homebush, near the former Olympic precinct in the centre of greater Sydney. Both are rated at 200 megawatt (MA) and 400 megawatt hours (MWh).
These two batteries and another 100 MW battery will be built by early 2029, ahead of the new and delayed closure date of the country’s biggest coal fired generator at Eraring (2,800 MW).
Another 150 MW battery will be completed by the end of 2029, with a further 350 MW of battery capacity to be delivered by 2031, taking the total to 1 GW, when it can be assumed that the Vales Point coal generator may also exit the grid.
