Doorstop, Muswellbrook

DAN REPACHOLI: What a special day. We're here at Liddell. Liddell has powered New South Wales for 52 years. The Hunter has been powering New South Wales and Australia for the last century, and will do for centuries to come. And look at what today is – Today there’s a battery right here at Liddell. Liddell had 52 years of powering us the traditional forms of power that we've had in the Hunter and in Australia. Now we're going into new stages of power as well, and that is the 500-megawatt battery.

It's an absolute pleasure to be here with Assistant Minister Josh Wilson and State Minister Penny Sharpe and talk about this project and Damien and his AGL team as well, because this is a project that is fantastic for the Hunter, fantastic for Australia, and going to be an absolute game changer all around. We are powering Australia still with new technology.

So, I thank AGL for the hard work that I put in, to within two years to have this place up and going with a 500-megawatt battery. That is amazing progress. And looking forward to seeing what AGL, as well as the rest of the businesses that are working to new energies in this country, I look forward to talking through this many, many more times in the Hunter as we do see a change in our energy mix here. We will still have our traditional forms of energy. We'll be working with them for still many, many more years to come. But whilst we're doing that, also bringing in new energies, new technology and new jobs for the Hunter right here.

I will now pass on to Assistant Minister Josh Wilson to say a few words. Cheers.

JOSH WILSON: Thanks, Dan. It's great to be here at Liddell in the Upper Hunter. Dan is a fantastic representative of this community. It's a powerhouse community that has been the case for a long time. That will continue to be the case as it takes the advantages that are there in the energy transformation that we are seeing. And this is a great example here, the Liddell big battery, one of the biggest batteries in Australia, adding additional storage, while we see more and more renewables come into the grid, soaking up that cheap and abundant solar energy and allowing us to redeploy it at peak times. 

The Albanese Government has supported this project with $35 million through ARENA, through its large storage battery fund. And of course, we've seen 8 gigawatts of new battery storage in addition to 20 gigawatts of new renewables since the Albanese Labor Government was elected in 2022. 

This is a pioneering project, as Dan has said, because this is a traditional energy producing community, and as coal-fired power generation comes out of our system, we need storage to back up the increasing amounts of renewables. 

The Albanese Labor Government is really pleased to partner with the Minn's Labor Government here in New South Wales. They are showing remarkable leadership when it comes to the deployment of renewables and storage as part of that transition. They know that it's the best future for the people of New South Wales, a cleaner and cheaper energy future, but that it also brings with it a whole bunch of new industrial opportunities. Because Australia ought to be both a renewable energy superpower and a clean industry powerhouse, and we are on that path. 

Last year, we saw renewables out generate coal fired power on a monthly basis for the first time, and we saw renewables go north of 50% in our grid here in the East Coast, the NEM and also in my home state of Western Australia. And we've seen battery storage become the fastest growing contributor of new energy when it comes to our electricity needs. And that is only going to continue in the future. It means we will have a cleaner and cheaper energy system. 

We are seeing that downward pressure on wholesale prices we've seen in the last couple of days, an indication that that will flow through into costs for households and businesses. We know that that's very necessary at the moment. We know that Australians at the household level and for small and medium enterprises, are facing cost pressures. The work we are doing in the energy transformation, in partnership with New South Wales right here at Liddell in the Upper Hunter, is making a contribution to that. 

I'll hand over to my colleague, the New South Wales Minister for Climate Energy, Penny Sharpe.

PENNY SHARPE: In the last three years, the electricity grid in New South Wales has expanded renewable capacity by 80%. That doesn't happen overnight, and it's that it doesn't also happen without the partnerships that you need, partnerships with the Commonwealth Government, partnerships with businesses like AGL, partnerships with local government as well. 

What we see here today is the two-year project from shovel ready to build one of the largest batteries in Australia, soon to be, probably one of the leaders, less, less large batteries. But importantly, what this battery does is it allows in heatwave conditions that we saw over summer to soak up every ray of renewable energy, so that we can use it at night, so that people can turn on their air conditioning, so people can also start to see a reduction in the price of that energy, and they can use that with confidence, that is what we are doing here. We are transforming our energy system, and the Hunter is at the centre of it. 

I just want to thank, particularly, all of the workers, 600 workers who worked on this site, new apprentices, new people with a new start in life working through that. I want to thank the people that are going to be demolishing the old power station, making sure that 90% of that is recycled and that we can use it in things like the anchor cages that are building our new wind turbines as we transform our bridge. But particularly, I want to thank today as well AGL, incredible partnership with both the federal and the state governments means that in two years, we've had this giant battery here, helping with good stability and putting pressure to lower prices for all households and businesses. That's what this transition is about. 

DAMIEN NICKS (AGL CEO): Thank you, Penny. Look it is a great day to be here today. It's really exciting to see this battery now open and operational. Importantly, as we said, three years ago, we closed the Liddell Power Station. We were really clear in what we wanted to do to rebuild both energy and capacity in this country. We said, a year later, we're here digging soil. We said we wanted to get it stood up. We've delivered on our strategy. We've stood the battery up in two years, and we're now moving on to the next project. The project is a Tomago battery, we started construction on that as well. It's great to see these projects delivered, but to our people, to our contractors and everyone, a big thank you. This is a great day, and looking forward to many more.

JOURNALIST: In terms of energy reliability at the end of the day, does that just mean less blackouts, shorter blackouts?

NICKS: Look, maybe just let me just describe what a battery is doing. And the purpose of the battery here is to soak up energy in the middle of the day where it's abundant, it's lower price. We shift in the middle of the day to the end of the day, that ultimately goes to lowering prices for customers over long term. We need many more of these built through the transition, but this is a great start. 

JOURNALIST: In June, I believe that's when it's set to go live. Is that when we'll start to see power bills go down? And when might that be?

NICKS: I think we can expect is we've got 250 megawatts right now. It's in testing. We've set to 250 we get another 500 megawatts in June. We still need many more to be built in the renewable transition, because ultimately, having lower power prices is great for our customers. That's what we're all endeavouring to do. We just need more of these batteries, more renewables built in this country.

JOURNALIST: With these stacks I see behind us here, they're set to be demolition in May. Tell us a bit about that and what that actually paves the way for?

NICKS: It's a huge planning process. It's been planned for now many, many years. We have many teams working on this. It is scheduled for later on in May. Those stacks will come down and at the end of the stacks then we'll remove the rest of the Liddell Power Station. It then opens up the opportunity to do more on this site. This site, I think, is a fantastic site for industrial energy hubs. It's got great infrastructure, great transmission. We see a great opportunity here for more business coming back into this region.

JOURNALIST: What is the Hunter Energy Hub? Just tell us about how that connects, also with wind and solar projects.

NICKS: So the way to think about this the infrastructure on the site, it has water, has transmission, and it had plenty of space to land, so it's great. We're really well positioned for industry. We're thinking about both recycling, both data centres. The opportunities I think, in this space is enormous.

JOURNALIST: And with Tomago, the sod was turned in December, just give us a bit more of an update, and when that sent to go live.

NICKS: Yeah, so construction of that site has started, so we see the land being now prepared, and that will take probably the same time as this one, about two years to get that building stood up. So we'll be standing here we not here. We'll be standing in Tomago, in roughly 18 months, two years, opening that battery as well. That's a 500-megawatt four-hour battery, double the size.

JOURNALIST: The coal workers who obviously, work up until 2023. Are any of them being engaged and actually working this project. What's that transition?

NICKS: Yeah, look, it's a great story. Not only do we have about 100 Liddell workers moving across the Bayswater Power Station, we now have a number that are post construction that coming across here to also work on site as well. So I believe there's a couple so far, but in time, we'll have more as well, and we will have a team managing batteries around this country and making sure we do as much of that as we can in house.

JOURNALIST: I was just going to ask a question that I'm not sure if you're the right person. This might be more of a Penny one actually. The New South Wales coal industry strategy 2026-2050 that was released today, and it does allow for coal mines to apply for extensions. How long do you want to see that continuing when we do have projects like this getting ready?

SHARPE: Look, we need to do all of it. What the New South Wales poll statement says is that there is a role for coal, both for international trading partners and for our needs into the future. What we want is a net, but it will decline over time, and that we need to manage that properly, both for communities and workers. That why projects like this are so important? The mayor said it very well today, which was that this is, yes, it's an energy transition, but really it's a restructure of the industrial base, particularly in places like the Hunter. We're already seeing changes in manufacturing. We've seen the type of work that can happen as a result of renewable energy. So for New South Wales, yes, there is a role for coal the future, and we want to make sure that that's well planned and we work closely with communities on that. But you know, for me as the Energy Minister, my job is to get as many renewables into the grid as fast as we can, and that's what we're doing. 

JOURNALIST: This is coal country, obviously. What would you say to those renewable sceptics?

SHARPE: Well, what I'd say is that we can do these things. First of all, I would say, though, to people who've worked in the coal industry and who continue to do that, you have been at the heart of the wealth and prosperity of this state. As our energy system was based of coal. We're now changing that. But what we're seeing here today is really a living proof that we can make that transition, and that the future is bright and that governments will work with you as we move through this journey.

JOURNALIST: What do we know about this technology? How does it stack up to what we're seeing around the world in terms of battery projects?

SHARPE: Look, I'm willing to say that we're leading the world in relation to this jurisdiction. We've got a planned system to as qualified power stations come out. Liddell was the first. We've got another four to go. We had a plan to build the transition, to get the renewable projects in. We've changed our planning system to smooth the way we continue to work on that. I really do think that New South Wales is a leading jurisdiction, and I think we're starting to see those results. We've seen those results in the default market offer, which is basically the prices on energy. They're down between two and 10% for households since last year, and for some businesses, it's going to be up to a 21% budge. This is showing that the system is working as designed and that we can harness all the renewables and make sure that they're actually putting pressure for large programs.

JOURNALIST: These are obviously lithium-ion batteries, which can have a bad reputation, obviously in a residential sense, with fires and stuff like that. Just talk us through the difference on an industrial scale and safety.

SHARPE: Look, I'm sure Damien could talk about this, but what I would say this is probably one of the safest sites in Australia in terms of the fire protection that's around those batteries. There is a real issue with batteries, but mostly that's actually people overdosing their e-bikes, and it's a serious matter that we're seeing fires. It's also people putting normal batteries into bins. As the Environment Minister, my main message for everyone, no batteries belong in any bins and don't overcharge your e-bike.

JOURNALIST: As they cease mining, no coal has been extracted since November 2022. [inaudible] and there's no coal mining from her there. When are we likely to see the protection of the Ravensworth homes and as AGL on this land once owned by AGL, a chain of homes here on the heritage register. So is Wombo House which is on an active mine site, and both on the heritage register. Why not Ravensworth?

SHARPE: Well, Ravensworth has been recommended for Heritage listing to me by the New South Wales Heritage Council. It has been a complex issue, and I know that you're aware of that, I would probably just be able to tell you that I'm still considering it, but I'm hoping to make this very soon.

JOURNALIST: This is a question for Dan. Just we've spoken to a local trucking company about fuel prices. They say now that things are starting to look like their over $3 they're considering having to take vehicles off the road, shut down all their operations, they're in limbo. What is your advice for the companies like that?

REPACHOLI: So fuel prices are high, they're high all around this country, and that's not because anything that anybody in this country has done. This has all happened because of a conflict overseas that we haven't been part of. So to what I say to those people is keep doing what you can if you have to put your prices up a little bit to cover what you need to cover further high fuel prices. Do that. Explain to your customers? Have those conversations your customers and your customers won't be happy with it, but they'll understand at the end of the day, because nobody can run a business at a loss, otherwise, businesses just don't work. So to those people that are struggling in this space, make sure you're just getting the fuel you need. Number one, don't hoard fuel. Don't get too much fuel. Just get what you need and what you would normally be going through, because we have the supply chain is working. The supply chain is definitely there. But unfortunately, we've seen some of our fuel stations go double of what they're turning over just in one day at fuel. So when that happens, the supply chain goes into chaos. Look at what happened with toilet paper back in covid. That's the easiest example we have of this. If we start hoarding things and buying more than we actually need, it makes it much harder on the other end. So I do call out to everybody, just buy what you need. We have good supply coming into this country, and we'll continue to keep people updated on this. We have Minister Bowen talking about this every single day. We have Assistant Minister Wilson talking about this every single day. So we do have the right process in place. We have the ships coming. We have the fuel coming, and just people need to not panic.

JOURNALIST: And what would you say to those independent fuel petrol stations who are struggling to keep up with your big names, your BPs.

REPACHOLI: So the independent fuel stations are out there struggling. If they are any struggling, reach out to my team, reach out to my office, reach out to myself so that we can have the conversations with the Minister if they are struggling. The Minister has said that rural and regional Australia is a priority and that we need to get fuel out to these regions. So if anybody is struggling out there, reach out to my team and I will make the right representation and get on the phone straight away to Minister Bowen.