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EnergyAustralia has welcomed the Commonwealth Government’s announcement supporting the Mt Piper Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), proposed for development near the Mt Piper power station in Lithgow in New South Wales (NSW).
Dan Nugent, Trading and Transition Executive said the announcement, made by the Commonwealth Minister for Climate Change and Energy, the Hon Chris Bowen MP, through the Capacity Investment Scheme, represented another meaningful step towards strengthening energy reliability and flexibility to support the energy transformation in Australia.
“Once operational, EnergyAustralia’s 250MW/1000MWh Stage 1 Mt Piper Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) will be able to power up to 320,000 homes and small businesses for up to four hours, at times of average customer demand, “said Mr Nugent.
“The success of the Mt Piper BESS project in the Capacity Investment Scheme reflects EnergyAustralia delivering on its flexible capacity pipeline to support the energy transition. As more renewable energy enters the system and traditional baseload generation retires, large-scale batteries are becoming essential to maintaining reliability. The location of the Mt Piper BESS project alongside traditional generation shows the emergence of the new energy future.
"Actively investing in flexible capacity to enable secure, affordable and reliable electricity for our customers is a key focus for us,” said Mr Nugent. “With financial close on the Wooreen BESS in Victoria achieved earlier this year and the development of projects like the Hallett BESS in South Australia and Lake Lyell Pumped Hydro Energy Storage System in New South Wales, we’re focused on delivering flexibility to customers across the country.”
EnergyAustralia has a long history of operating power stations in the Lithgow region, including the Mt Piper power station. EnergyAustralia is committed to building on our community investment and benefit sharing arrangements as the Mt Piper BESS project development continues.
About the Mt Piper Battery Energy Storage System
The proposed Stage 1 Mt Piper BESS project would utilise nearby, existing electricity infrastructure to develop a grid-scale battery with a capacity to dispatch up to 250 MW of power to the electricity network over a duration of up to four hours.
BESS is an energy storage system that can capture energy from multiple different sources, accumulate that energy, and store it for later use. Energy is discharged from the battery to meet demand when needed.
Building a BESS adjacent to the Mt Piper power station (within existing EnergyAustralia landholdings) is anticipated to have low environmental and social impacts. The project will also avoid the need to construct lengthy new overhead power lines across private land due to its proximity to existing network infrastructure.
Next steps
This energy storage technology has great potential to help supply homes and businesses in NSW with a reliable source of electricity when demand is high. It will also support renewable energy development and could help to sustain Lithgow’s future as an energy hub. Energy storage projects are an important part of the national transition to a more secure and reliable energy future.
EnergyAustralia will continue with development of the project, with a final investment decision expected in late 2026.
For media enquiries:
EnergyAustralia
03 9060 0079
mediarelations@energyaustralia.com.au