Located 1,140 kilometres northwest of Sydney, the New South Wales (NSW) city of Broken Hill will have its large-scale back-up diesel generator superseded by a mini-grid system supplied by Canadian-headquartered long-duration energy storage (LDES) developer Hydrostor’s advanced compressed air energy storage (A-CAES) technology.
The Hydrostore Silver City Energy Storage Centre (SCESC) A-CAES project will be capable of 200 MW generation for 8 hours duration (1600 MWh), connect to the NSW grid and able to trade large quantities of energy on a daily basis.
A-CAES involves a tall, vertical column of water generating very large pressure on air tanks at its bottom, allowing for times of high electricity demand or high energy prices, to release air upwards to power turbines at the surface.
Hydrostor’s system also captures and stores heat created when the air is first compressed and uses that heat energy to supercharge the released air’s energy content just before it hits the generator turbines, with the added benefits of operating fuel and emission free.
Image: Hydrostor
The SCESC mini-grid concept is set to be housed at the zinc and silver Potosi mine, 6 kilometres northeast of Broken Hill, and will enable the mini-grid to draw from existing renewable energy infrastructure in the region to form an independent energy solution capable of supplying the entire town, without needing connection to the National Electricity Market (NEM).
NSW Minister for Climate Change and Energy Penny Sharpe said recent events in the Far West region of NSW have demonstrated the need for long duration storage to secure energy supply for Broken Hill and the Far West.
“This Silver City Energy Storage Facility is a solution that will make Broken Hill a renewable energy leader. The city will be generating, storing and distributing cleaner and more affordable energy to the Far West region and the rest of the state.
“This project will replace the older large-scale back-up diesel generator, preventing a repeat of the recent energy emergency in the Far West region of NSW.”
Image: Hydrostor
An agreement between Hydrostor and Crown Lands, part of the NSW department of planning, housing and infrastructure (DPHI), will see Hydrostor lease the land for a period of 65 years, with construction expected to begin in 2025, following development approval.
The project previously received development funding from the NSW government under the Emerging Energy Opportunities Program and in 2022, a $45 million (USD 30 million) grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) toward the proposed $652 million project, as part of ARENA’s Advancing Renewables Program.
The announcement comes after a severe storm destroyed seven Transgrid transmission towers in the region on 17 October 2024, which caused disruption to the supply of electricity followed by rolling blackouts impacting 20,000 residents in the Broken Hill region, for approximately two weeks.
Other Australian projects in Hydrostor’s pipeline are located in South Australia, Western Australia and Victoria.
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