Broken Hill’s energy future secured
An old Broken Hill mine site will soon be transformed into a first-of-its-kind compressed air energy storage system, delivering energy security, jobs and investment to NSW.
The NSW Government has provided planning approval for Hydrostor’s compressed air energy storage system with a capacity of 200MW / 1,600MWh. The Silver City Energy Storage Centre could power about 80,000 homes in peak demand and will maintain a reserve capacity of 250MWh to provide back-up to Broken Hill during times of planned and unplanned outages.
The project is the first-of-its-kind in Australia. It utilises advanced technology that uses compressed air to store energy and generate electricity, without producing greenhouse gases.
The $638m project will boost the local economy, creating up to 400 full-time construction jobs and around 26 ongoing operational jobs.
During periods of low-energy demand, excess electricity is used to compress air and store it in large underground caverns or tanks.
When energy demand is high, the compressed air is released, heated and expanded through turbines to generate electricity.
NSW Climate Change and Energy Minister Penny Sharpe says the project will provide construction and ongoing jobs and will put Broken Hill on the map as a nation leader in renewable energy
“Hydrostor’s Silver City Energy Storage Centre boosts the reliability of the NSW electricity grid and provides back-up for homes and businesses in the state’s far west in times of planned and unplanned outages,” she said.
“Energy storage solutions like this will go a long way to preventing blackouts like the ones the Far West experienced last year.”
The project will be supported by a 65-year government lease on a Crown land site near the Potosi mine at Broken Hill.
Broken Hill City Council will receive $3.1m under a Voluntary Planning Agreement, paid over five years, to benefit the local community.
With work expected to start this year, it is estimated construction of the project will take three to four years.