Australian energy major AGL Energy has received approval from the New South Wales government for its 500MW/2,000MWh Tomago battery energy storage system (BESS).
The BESS, which will be located within the Tomago Industrial Estate northwest of the state’s second-largest city, Newcastle, aims to improve the reliability of the National Electricity Market (NEM) by storing power for use when energy demand exceeds generation.
AGL’s BESS will become one of the state’s largest and will require an investment of around AU$1 billion (US$650 million). New South Wales’s largest BESS is Origin Energy’s Eraring battery, which recently saw its third stage approved, increasing the facility to 2,800MWh.
It is worth noting that the BESS will be located within the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), which will enhance its reliability. This REZ attracted significant interest in 2022 worth around AU$100 billion in investment, as reported by our sister publication PV Tech.
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According to a statement by the NSW government, this interest included 24 solar energy projects, 35 large-scale BESS, eight pumped hydro projects, and 20 wind farms, worth a cumulative total of 40GW.
This is the latest milestone in AGL’s BESS portfolio. In August, AGL acquired BESS developer Firm Power, adding 5.8GW to its development pipeline.
Firm Power has around 21 grid-scale projects currently in development across Australia, comprising 2.3GW of capacity in New South Wales, 2.7GW in Queensland, 500MW in Western Australia, and 300MW in Victoria and South Australia.
AGL’s general manager of power development and energy hubs, Travis Hughes, noted on LinkedIn the company’s development portfolio and its aspirations to add 12GW of renewables by 2035.
“We welcome planning approval from the New South Wales minister for planning for AGL’s Tomago battery. The 500 MW 4-hour grid-scale battery has the potential to provide additional firming capacity for AGL’s NSW customers,” Hughes said.
“It will also contribute towards AGL’s ambition to add 12GW of renewables and firming to our portfolio by 2035. Planning approval is an important milestone as we progress our development plans ahead of a final investment decision in 2025.”
