Central West hydro projects will generate enough to succeed Mount Piper

There is currently four hydroelectric projects in the pipeline for the Central West: ACTO's 325-megawatt Central West Pumped Hydro Project at Yetholme, a 350-megawatt hydroelectric generator at Lake Lyell, Neoen's 500-megawatt Great Western Battery at Wallerawang and AMPYR's 500-megawatt Wellington South Battery.

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The ACTO facility will also include eight hours of storage, totalling 2600 megawatt hours.

Nature Conservation Council campaigns director Dr Brad Smith said there's now more than enough dispatchable clean-energy projects in the Central West to replace the aging Mount Piper coal-fired power station near Lithgow.

"The Mount Piper power station can produce up to 1400 megawatts, although on heatwave days the maximum output of coal power stations tends to be lower," Dr Smith said.

"The four new energy storage projects have the advantage of being able to store energy as well as generate electricity, meaning they can help the grid by soaking up cheap solar power on sunny days and storing it for later use. Coal power stations don't help in that situation."

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Each project combined has a capacity of 1675 megawatts, and EnergyAustralia has announced Mount Piper will be decommissioned by 2040, in accordance with the company's pledge to move away from coal by then.

Dr Smith said clean energy investment is "really on a roll" in NSW.

"This is huge step towards cleaning up the electricity sector in NSW and helping the state play its part in limiting climate change to safe levels."

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In addition to the four hydro projects, Bathurst also has three solar farms in the pipeline for Brewongle [First Solar], Eglinton [Neoen], and Glanmire [Elgin Energy].

However, two of the three projects have received opposition from landowners over land devaluation concerns.

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