Two battery storage systems have hit milestones in New South Wales, Australia: a 150MWh system has been granted approval, whilst a 1,000MWh system has been submitted for federal consideration.
The New South Wales (NSW) Independent Planning Commission (IPC) has approved Foresight Group Australia’s 75MW/150MWh Hume North battery near Albury, representing a AU$120 million (US$84 million) investment that will connect to existing transmission infrastructure approximately 10km east of the city.
Meanwhile, Banpu Energy Australia’s larger 500MW/1,000MWh Pinecrest facility in Lithgow has been referred for environmental assessment under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
NSW approves 75MW Hume North battery storage system
The NSW IPC has approved a 75MW/150MWh battery storage system near Lake Hume Village, approximately 10km east of the city of Albury, in the south of the state.
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The Hume North BESS, being developed by Foresight Group Australia, will utilise containerised lithium-ion batteries with a 2-hour duration capacity. The facility will connect via overhead cabling to the existing Transgrid Albury to Hume 132kV transmission line that traverses the eastern portion of the 4-hectare project area.
The approval follows an assessment process that included public exhibition of the Environmental Impact Statement, which attracted 76 unique submissions.
Of these, 63 were from the general public and nine were from special interest groups. Notably, Albury City Council also objected to the project. Only two submissions were received within 5km of the site, while 67 came from more than 100km away, including 18 from interstate.
In response to agency advice, council feedback and public submissions, Foresight amended the project.
The modifications included refinements to the site layout affecting the access track, substation, battery system and detention basin, as well as increased setbacks from the northern boundary and supplementary vegetation screening along the northern boundary and site entrance.
A 20,000-litre water tank for firefighting purposes was also added to address safety concerns.
This NSW IPC approval follows the larger 1.5GWh Dinawan Solar Farm solar-plus-storage project, which was granted IPC approval last week.
According to the application, the site, which was most recently used for residential purposes, contains an uninhabited rural dwelling and associated structures.
Importantly, it does not contain any mapped Biophysical Strategic Agricultural Land, and land within the development footprint is categorised as Land and Soil Capability Class 6, indicating very high limitations for agricultural use.
As such, the IPC concluded the project would not significantly reduce regional agricultural productivity, given the 1.9-hectare development footprint and the site’s current non-agricultural status.
Construction is expected to commence in early 2026 with an anticipated 12-month build period. The project will create up to 50 construction jobs and two operational positions over its expected 30-year operational life.
Foresight has committed to a Voluntary Planning Agreement providing approximately AU$450,000 to Albury City Council for community benefits, while the AU$120 million capital investment represents a significant injection into the New South Wales economy.
1,000MWh Pinecrest BESS referred for federal assessment
A substantially larger battery energy storage project has been referred to Australia’s EPBC Act, with Banpu Energy Australia proposing a 500MW/1,000MWh facility at Lidsdale in the City of Lithgow.
The Pinecrest BESS project would be developed on a 35.2-hectare project area at 257 Brays Lane, with an indicative development footprint of 19.1 hectares encompassing multiple land parcels.
According to the official project website, the battery storage system will be built on “one of the best locations on the grid in New South Wales”.
The 2-hour duration system would involve installing enclosed batteries, power conversion systems including associated transformers, underground power and fibre-optic cabling, grid connection equipment, and supporting infrastructure, including site offices, storage areas, internal access tracks, security fencing, and CCTV systems.
The current indicative development footprint would require clearance of approximately 1.7 hectares of native vegetation, triggering the federal environmental assessment process under the EPBC Act.
The Pinecrest BESS will connect to the National Electricity Market (NEM) via Transgrid’s exisiting Wallerawang 330kV substation located approximately 1.3km southeast of the development site.
However, this will require the installation of a new transmission line approximately 150 metres in length, which may be constructed underground or overhead to connect to the 132kV or 330kV transmission lines located to the west of the site.
Several large-scale battery storage systems have been submitted to Australia’s EPBC Act in recent weeks. This includes Private Energy Partners’ 780MW Gladstone SDA Energy Hub BESS in Queensland, as well as Gryphon Energy, Red Hill Renewable Energy and Ampyr Energy Australia’s 1.6GWh Rutherglen Battery.
Interested in Australia? Read Energy-Storage.news’ Energy Storage Summit Australia coverage and related content.
