Beresfield BESS
Beresfield Battery Energy Storage
The proposed Beresfield Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) is a 170MW stand-alone battery to be located adjacent to Ausgrid’s Beresfield Substation near Newcastle in NSW.
Once operational, the Beresfield BESS will provide a range of electricity and power market services – supporting Firm Power’s mission to power the clean energy transition.
The Beresfield BESS forms part of the Hunter Dispatchable Energy System (HDES) – a distributed stand-alone battery system for the Hunter region, designed to balance the grid and support the performance and future uptake of renewable energy in NSW.
DEVELOPMENT STATUS
The Beresfield BESS is currently in development with land secured, development approved and initial phases of grid connection underway. The development phase of the project is expected to complete in early 2025.
SITE
Approximately 1.5ha of land has been secured immediately adjacent to the Beresfield Substation. The land is zoned light industry and supports the construction and operations of a battery energy storage system.
PLANNING
The planning approval pathway for the project is via the State Significant Development process. This requires preparation of a scoping report, request for Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements, an Environmental Impact Statement and lodgement of the development application to the Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure. The project has received development approval in December 2023.
GRID
As part of the grid strategy, Firm Power will submit connection applications to Ausgrid, including system studies and models which cover the performance of the BESS. Following review of the connection applications by Ausgrid and AEMO it is expected that an offer to connect will be produced followed by a connection agreement. Preliminary enquiries, along with system planning advice have been completed and the project is now in the application to connect phase.
Construction & Operations
Once all necessary approvals, agreements and authorisations have been obtained, the Beresfield BESS project can commence construction activities.
Construction typically takes up to 18 months and involves site preparation, delivery and installation and testing and commissioning stages. Preparation of the site includes civil works that make it suitable for the BESS equipment, such as earthworks, drainage and foundations. Following this, equipment, such as battery module enclosures, inverters, transformers, switchgear and ancillary systems are delivered to site, installed and interconnected. The last step in construction is the testing and commissioning process where the BESS’s installation is validated and made ready for operation.
The BESS will be designed to operate for greater than a 20-year useful life. During this period the operational work will generally involve monitoring, testing and maintenance of equipment as well as receipt of goods, removal of waste and other general site maintenance (such as care of groundcover). During this period the site will be monitored and controlled remotely with a few people coming to site periodically for the other activities.
At the BESS end of life, the site will be remediated. This involves the removal of all above-ground infrastructure and any works needed to return the land to a safe, clean and stable state.
Community
The Beresfield BESS will bring new sustainable technology to the local area and create construction jobs, opportunities for local suppliers and ongoing project roles. Firm Power is interested in talking to members of the community who have an interest in energy storage or who would like to discuss education, provision of services or employment opportunities that may exist in the future.
If you have any questions or concerns about the project, or would just like to discuss the project, you can contact our team directly by filling out the following form or calling 1800 224 273.