Crazy crazy crazy
No way does a battery replace a large, coal-fired power station
One of Australia's leading energy analysts says a 500-megawatt battery is an ideal way to begin the replacement of the Liddell power station near Muswellbrook in the NSW Hunter Valley, which will shut next year.
The NSW government has given planning approval for the battery at AGL's Liddell station, which will be retired next year.
The first unit at the power station is due to close next month. The battery has the capacity to equal Liddell's output for about four hours. While that alone isn't enough to keep the lights on, Tony Wood says batteries like AGL's are needed for when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow.
"It doesn't solve everything but it makes a big difference, as we move from a system that's overwhelmingly fossil-fuel coal and gas-based to one that's going to be wind and solar-based," Mr Wood said.
