US-based asset manager BlackRock has raised more than $500 million, including a $100 million equity investment from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, to help accelerate the construction of the $1billion Waratah Super Battery on the former Munmorah Power Station site.
Construction of the 850 megawatt (1680 megawatts-hours) battery, the largest of its kind in the southern hemisphere, began last month.
The project is being built by BlackRock offshoot Akaysha Energy in partnership with Transgrid.
It is due to be completed in 2025, before the earliest possible closure of the Eraring Power Station in August 2025.
The battery will act as a "shock absorber" for the grid, allowing power to flow into the major load centres around Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong at maximum capacity and protecting against power surges caused by bushfires and lightning strikes.
BlackRock's co-head of climate infrastructure for the Asia Pacific, Charlie Reid , said the battery would add greater reliability and resilience to the power grid and will help Australia achieve its renewable ambitions.
"We firmly believe battery storage is the critical technology of today - applied both on a small scale in homes and for large-scale battery platforms like the Waratah Super Battery," he said in a statement.
BlackRock's other co-investors in the project include education industry super fund NGS Super, and the federal government's Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
"The Waratah Super Battery will help stabilise the electricity network and help deliver more of the cleanest, cheapest form of energy for Australian businesses and households," federal Climate Change and Energy Minister Chris Bowen said.
Australia and the Hunter Region in particular, are experiencing one of the world's fastest energy transitions as coal-fired power stations, which supply about two-thirds of the main grid, increasingly bring their closure dates forward.
The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) last month received an additional $3 million, jointly funded by the Commonwealth and state governments, to help accelerate the connection of key wind, solar and battery projects.
The projects, including several wind and solar projects in the Upper Hunter, are considered essential to stabilising the grid following the closure of Liddell power station last month and delays to the Hunter Power Project at Kurri.
The work has been identified as a priority following the forecast of an El Nino weather pattern for the 2023-24 summer.
The hotter than average conditions will put existing coal generators such as Eraring, Vales Point and Bayswater under increased pressure during periods of peak demand.
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