en.Wedoany.com Reported - Australian utility company AGL Energy has submitted its 50MW/100MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) project in the Toronto area of New South Wales' Central Coast for federal environmental assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act).
The Awaba BESS project is proposed for a 1.45-hectare site near Toronto, adjacent to the existing Ausgrid Awaba substation. The project will connect to the neighboring substation via underground or above-ground 33kV sub-transmission lines, enabling direct grid connection without requiring new infrastructure beyond the site boundary. The project has previously obtained state-level major development approval under the New South Wales Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, and this EPBC submission is the final federal environmental assessment step required before construction can commence.
The proposed system will use enclosed lithium-ion or sodium-ion batteries, with a total output of 50MW AC and an energy storage capacity of 100MWh, deliverable in phases. Battery units will be manufactured off-site and transported to the location after site preparation, including leveling and benching, is completed. Construction is expected to take approximately 12 months, and the facility will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with a design life of 20 years, extendable to 30 years through battery module replacement.
The project's disturbance area is 1.45 hectares, including 0.57 hectares of native vegetation (including trees along Awaba Road), 0.49 hectares of exotic grassland, and 0.39 hectares of already cleared access tracks and substation areas. EPBC submission documents indicate that portions of the site have been historically cleared for the existing Ausgrid substation and asset protection zones, with some existing vegetation already degraded.
The Awaba BESS aims to connect to Ausgrid's distribution network in the Hunter region, positioned as a peaking asset. The region has historically relied on coal-fired generation from the Hunter Valley for baseload supply. This project is part of a recent acceleration in battery storage system submissions under the EPBC Act framework in New South Wales. Eku Energy has previously submitted two 300MW/1,200MWh projects under the EPBC Act in Victoria and New South Wales. Additionally, Ausgrid's PLUS Grid Storage entity submitted the 150MW/300MWh Berkeley Vale BESS under the EPBC Act earlier in 2026, Iberdrola Australia recently submitted a 1000MW battery energy storage system, and Goldwind Capital submitted a 1GWh wind-plus-storage project last week.
