Transgrid

Battery storage developer Akaysha Energy says it has completed the first stage of energisation for the 850 MW / 1,680 MWh Waratah Super Battery that will help stabilise the New South Wales grid during the state’s transition from coal-fired power.

The Victoria to New South Wales Interconnector West 500 kV transmission line has received an $840 million boost to progress its early works, enabling equipment orders, the project’s design, and market and community engagement to progress.

The 900-kilometre EnergyConnect transmission project, that will link the energy grids in South Australia, Victoria and New South Wales and support the renewable energy build-out, has achieved two major milestones including progress on the project’s main substation hub.

New South Wales power grid owner Transgrid has pinpointed a trio of sites in the state’s far west that could host remote renewable energy zones that it said could help address the challenges posed by an energy transition that it is in “vertical take-off.”

The Australian Energy Regulator has approved final costs for the next stage of Transgrid’s multi-billion-dollar Humelink transmission project but slashed the budget for the construction of the 500 kV line by more than $3 million.

Seven transmission projects valued at $7.9 billion are declared newly actionable in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s 2024 Integrated System Plan, to progress the 10,000 km of new transmission lines needed to achieve a net zero economy by 2050.

New South Wales power grid owner Transgrid is looking at rolling out up to 14 synchronous condensers and 4.8 GW of batteries with ‘grid forming’ capability to protect and strengthen the security and stability of the electricity grid as coal-fired power plants retire and more renewables come online.

Construction of Australia’s largest energy transmission project is progressing with Transgrid announcing that the first of four lines has been completed as part of the 900-kilometre EnergyConnect infrastructure project that will link power grids across three states.

Andrew Forrest’s Squadron Energy has lodged documents with the New South Wales government in a forward step on its proposed 2 GW Koorakee Energy Park that is to include a 1 GW solar farm and 1 GW of wind energy backed by a 1 GW / 12 GWh battery energy storage system.

Grid connections for four battery energy storage projects with a combined capacity of more than 6.5 GWh are to be fast-tracked by the New South Wales government as it seeks to ensure electricity reliability as coal-fired generation exits the system.