New South Wales is boosting the security and reliability of its energy grid with a new tender for projects that deliver 500MW of firm capacity.
The tender will seek bids for firming infrastructure like batteries, gas generation and virtual power plants, that can rapidly supply electricity to the grid or reduce the use of electricity at short notice.
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NSW is forecast to face shortfalls of firm capacity for the summer of 2027-28. A range of measures are already underway to meet NSW’s energy security target but this new tender will provide greater certainty as NSW transforms its energy system.
The tender will be conducted by ASL (formerly AEMO Services) later this year, and priority will be given to projects that can supply the Sydney, Newcastle and Wollongong areas (where the shortfalls are forecast) during times of peak period.
Successful projects will join those supported in the state’s first firming tender in 2023, with the likes of AGL’s Liddell battery, Akaysha Energy’s Orana battery, Iberdrola’s Smithfield battery and NSW’s first large scale virtual power plant under the NSW Roadmap being delivered by Enel X.
NSW Minister for Climate Change and Energy Penny Sharpe said, “This tender will provide greater certainty against future reliability risks.
“We are proactively managing the risks associated with delivering multiple large-scale infrastructure projects at once, as we rebuild our energy system.”
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ASL CEO Nevenka Codevelle said, “The announcement of this tender for firming infrastructure demonstrates the flexibility and adaptability of the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap in bringing forward additional energy capacity in response to an identified need.
“Firming infrastructure plays a crucial role in supporting the reliability of the NSW electricity system, with this tender calling on projects to come forward that can support the Sydney-Newcastle-Wollongong region by the summer of 2027/28.”
