Hydrostor, a long duration energy storage solution provider, has announced the latest results from a third-party economic impact report produced by ACIL Allen for its 200 MW Advanced Compressed Air Energy Storage (A-CAES) project being developed in Broken Hill, New South Wales.
The report demonstrates significant economic benefits to New South Wales and the local community of Broken Hill. Highlights of the report include:
- The total investment is expected to be up to AUS$560 million, with the vast majority of construction expenditures occurring in New South Wales and the community of Broken Hill.
- The project will employ an average of 260 full time equivalent (FTE) construction jobs over three years, with a peak in the second year of 350 workers. It is anticipated that many of these workers will be sourced from the local Broken Hill region.
- During the 50+ year project life, approximately 53% of all operations expenditures will be purchased from the Broken Hill region, equivalent to a total of AUS$460 million or roughly AUS$12 million per annum.
- Over the project’s economic life to 2075, it is expected that the project will support substantial local employment opportunities with 70 FTE jobs in the Broken Hill region and over 90 FTE jobs in New South Wales as a whole.
- In addition to the direct jobs generated during the construction and operation phases, the project will require significant quantities of New South Wales goods and services, which will further increase labour demand across the State.
In addition to these economic benefits, the A-CAES project at Broken Hill provides a critical long-term grid reliability solution to the remote mining community, in a manner that does not rely on fossil fuels, thereby eliminating potential supply chain disruptions and the need to truck in vast amounts of diesel fuel over large distances to ensure electrical supply. Importantly, the A-CAES project enables the community and mining operations to grow over time, serving an increasing electrical load in the most cost-effective manner for the grid.
Curtis VanWalleghem, CEO, Hydrostor, said: “New South Wales is one of the first regions to future proof its transition to renewable energy by investing in long duration energy storage. Hydrostor’s A-CAES system will allow renewable energy to support the grid on-demand, even in unfavourable weather conditions for wind or solar energy. This supports the direct replacement of fossil fuels and protects the Broken Hill energy system for generations.”
Simon Currie, Principal, Energy Estate, Hydrostor’s development partner, said: “Hydrostor’s innovative technology is perfectly suited to a location like Broken Hill. It will deliver long duration energy storage by utilising existing mine infrastructure and will facilitate the development of new renewable energy projects, as well as service the local community and new and existing mining loads. Compressed air projects can be sited more flexibly than other viable long duration options such as PHES and Broken Hill is the first in a pipeline of projects we plan to jointly develop in Australia.”
Darriea Turley, Mayor, Broken Hill City Council, said: “This is a very exciting and innovative project for Broken Hill, and one that I think will be welcomed by locals. It will bring employment and energy security to our region and provide a new method of utilising mining infrastructure. This project aligns with Council's own Renewable Energy Action Plan and Sustainability Strategy and will complement renewable energy projects in our city well into the future.”
A-CAES is Hydrostor’s long-duration energy storage system that provides reliable, emissions-free energy storage where the grid needs it. A-CAES uses proven components from mining and gas operations to create a scalable energy storage system that is low-impact, cost-effective, and can store energy for up to 6+ hours.
In 2020, Hydrostor’s 200 MW and 8 hours (or 1600 MWh) A-CAES system was selected by NSW’s Transmission Network Service Provider, Transgrid, as the preferred option in its Regulatory Investment Test for Transmission (RIT-T) for reliable and secure supply for Broken Hill. Hydrostor and Energy Estate are actively developing this project, which has received grant funding from the NSW Government’s Emerging Energy Program to complete pre-feasibility work.
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