Akaysha Energy Commissions First 350 MW of Waratah Super Battery, Bolstering NSW Grid Stability and Setting Global Benchmark
Key Insights
Akaysha Energy has brought the initial 350 MW (700 MWh) of the Waratah Super Battery online, significantly enhancing grid stability in New South Wales, Australia.
Upon full operation in 2025, the 850 MW/1680 MWh battery will be the world's most powerful, providing a guaranteed 700 MW/1400 MWh capacity to prevent power disruptions.
Operating as a System Integrity Protection Scheme (SIPS), the battery rapidly injects power during grid emergencies, ensuring minimal supply interruption for NSW residents and businesses.
The project, commissioned by the NSW Government, has attracted over AUD$1 billion in investment and created hundreds of jobs, demonstrating significant economic and energy security benefits.
Akaysha Energy has successfully commissioned the first 350 MW (700 MWh) of the Waratah Super Battery, marking a critical milestone in enhancing the resilience of New South Wales' electricity grid. This initial phase of the battery, strategically located at the former Munmorah coal-fired power station approximately 100 km north of Sydney, is now actively functioning as a vital "shock absorber" to mitigate grid disturbances caused by events such as heatwaves, lightning strikes, and bushfires. This deployment underscores a significant advancement in large-scale energy storage, positioning the Waratah Super Battery as a global benchmark in grid stability solutions.
Upon its full operational status in 2025, the Waratah Super Battery will boast a physical capacity of 850 MW/1680 MWh, delivering a guaranteed continuous active power capacity of at least 700 MW and a usable energy storage capacity of 1400 MWh. This robust capacity is sufficient to power 970,000 homes for one hour or provide a full day's electricity for 80,000 homes. Designed for rapid response, the battery can fully charge in two hours and discharge its entire power capacity into the grid within seconds, ensuring swift intervention during emergencies and minimizing disruption to electricity supply for NSW consumers.
The primary function of the Waratah Super Battery is its integral role within a System Integrity Protection Scheme (SIPS). This sophisticated control system, operated by TransGrid, detects network contingencies and faults, rapidly signaling both the battery to discharge and paired generators to adjust output. This coordinated response increases the transmission capacity of the existing network, allowing more power to flow efficiently from various generators to meet demand across NSW. The project's design includes oversizing the battery, which not only accounts for long-term degradation, ensuring sustained security of supply, but also allows Akaysha Energy to leverage excess capacity for additional revenue streams, thereby potentially reducing the cost of the SIPS service for NSW customers.
Commissioned by EnergyCo, the NSW Government body overseeing the project, Akaysha Energy was selected in a competitive procurement process in 2022. Since construction commenced in 2023, the Waratah Super Battery project has stimulated over AUD$1 billion in local economic investment and generated more than 700 indirect jobs during its construction phase. Key delivery partners include EnergyCo, TransGrid, Consolidated Power Projects, Wilson Transformer Company, Hitachi Energy, and Generator Property Management, highlighting a collaborative effort to deliver this critical infrastructure. The successful integration of this initial phase demonstrates a tangible step towards a more secure and resilient energy future for New South Wales, leveraging advanced battery technology to support grid modernization and the transition to renewable energy sources.