First stage of Waratah Super Battery begins operation in NSW

Akaysha Energy has brought the first 350 MW / 700 MWh of the Waratah Super Battery online. Commissioned by the New South Wales (NSW) Government and developed by Akaysha Energy, the facility is intended to act as a shock absorber for the state’s electricity grid during events such as heatwaves, lightning strikes and bushfires.

The battery is located at the site of the former Munmorah coal-fired power station, about 100 kilometres north of Sydney. Its total installed capacity is 850 MW / 1,680 MWh. Once fully operational later in 2025, it will deliver a guaranteed continuous output of at least 700 MW and usable storage capacity of at least 1,400 MWh.

The system can supply enough electricity for around 970,000 homes for one hour or power 80,000 homes for a full day. It charges in about two hours and can discharge at full capacity within seconds. The Waratah Super Battery is a key element of the System Integrity Protection Scheme (SIPS), which also includes paired generation services from NSW-based power plants, an advanced communications system operated by TransGrid to detect faults and trigger battery response, and network upgrades to allow greater energy flows.

Akaysha Energy has stated that the battery is intentionally oversized to offset long-term degradation, ensuring reliability over its lifetime. This approach also enables the developer to access additional revenue streams, which may help reduce consumer costs.

The project was awarded to Akaysha Energy in 2022 following a competitive process led by EnergyCo, the NSW Government agency responsible for delivery. Construction of the battery began in May 2023 and was completed in October 2024. The wider project has contributed more than AUD 1 billion to the local economy and supported over 700 indirect jobs.

NSW plans to retire three of its four remaining coal-fired power plants by 2035. The Waratah Super Battery is part of the state’s Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, which seeks to replace coal generation with a cleaner and more reliable energy system.