Wellington Town BESS

RWE Renewables Australia is proposing to construct a standalone, lithium-ion Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) at Wellington in New South Wales, on a site immediately adjacent to the Wellington Town substation. The entire site is located within the Dubbo Regional Council Local Government Area and the Central West Catchment Management Authority.

Renewable energy generation is an emerging sector within the broader region, and the development footprint is located within the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (CWO REZ), which was formally declared in November 2021 by the NSW Government. The CWO REZ aims to unlock at least 3 gigawatts (GW) of new network capacity by the mid-2020s, which is enough to power 1.4 million Australian homes. The region has enormous potential to contribute renewable energy to the National Electricity Market (NEM), support jobs, and drive investment.

Project location

Map of Wellington showing streets, the Macquarie River, and nearby landmarks. Includes Wellington Showground and BESS.

Click on the image to zoom

The proposed project site is zoned General Industrial (IN1) under the Dubbo Regional Local Environmental Plan 2022, meaning that the area is intended for general industrial uses which encourage employment opportunities, and minimise any adverse effect on industry or other land uses. This ensures that the location of the proposed BESS is highly appropriate and positively contributes to the community.

The proposed BESS would be located on about 7.8 hectares (ha) of private land, with a maximum capacity of 50 megawatts (MW) and 400 megawatt hours (MWh). The BESS would connect directly to the adjacent Wellington Town Substation, reducing the impact and disturbance of the development on the community.

Construction and operation of the project would involve the following key components:

BESS Infrastructure

BESS containers;
Inverters;
Main transformer;
Medium Voltage (MV) transformers;
Cooling systems (as required);
Fire suppression systems; and
Switchroom.

General Site Infrastructure

Switchyard;
Operations and Maintenance (O&M) buildings;
Site office and associated amenities (bathroom facilities, lunch/break room, and first-aid room);
Storage sheds;
Cabling;
Fencing; and
Staff carpark.

Temporary infrastructure, including construction facilities, construction staff car parking, component laydown areas, truck parking and unloading bays would also be required.

Project status: Preparing Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) – undertaking studies, preparing layouts and seeking community opinion

Operation: Targeting 2027 for initial operations

Facts & figures

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development footprint

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jobs during construction

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construction period

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battery capacity

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battery storage

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for initial operations

Project benefits

The proposed Wellington Town BESS aims to improve the reliability and security of the electricity network by storing energy during periods of low demand, and dispatching energy during periods of peak demand and emergency events. The BESS would be a key piece of infrastructure in supporting energy storage development in regional Australia and would subsequently assist in reducing emissions by improving national resilience in energy supply and supporting affordable energy for Australian homes.

The project would also create job opportunities, with an estimated 50 full-time equivalent jobs during the up to 18-month construction period and up to three ongoing positions during operations.

An infographic illustrating energy storage. It shows power surplus from renewable generation directed to storage, then returned to the grid.

Click on the image to zoom

These include:

Contributing to the national renewable energy target by promoting energy security through a more diverse energy mix, reducing coal dependence, increasing energy efficiency, and moving to lower emission energy sources
Contributing to achieving the NSW target of zero net emissions by 2050

News and events

December 2023 - Project update

RWE Renewables Australia would like to thank you all those who attended the Wellington Town BESS information sessions held at the Wellington Civic Centre on Tuesday the 31^st of October, and at the Four Cats Café on Wednesday the 1^st of November.

The team thoroughly enjoyed the time spent in Wellington, and were fortunate enough to meet with various community members over the two days. We thank you again for taking the time to share valuable insights into the region and community.

We look forward to revisiting Wellington and would welcome the opportunity to meet with those who are interested in learning more about the project or have ideas on ways RWE Renewables Australia can support the local community.

If you would like to meet with a member of the project team, please contact us by emailing wellingtontownbess@rwe.com or calling us on 1800 867 081.

As the project team work through the next stage of planning approvals, we invite community members to complete our online community feedback survey by clicking here.

Your feedback will inform Social Impact Assessment, which will be submitted to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) as part of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS will be published in 2024.
October and November 2023 – Community information drop-in sessions

Wellington residents and broader community members are invited to learn more about the Wellington Town BESS Proposal at community drop-in sessions, which will be held on the following dates:

SESSION ONE
Venue: Wellington Civic Centre
21 Swift St, Wellington
Date: Tuesday 31st October, 2023
Time: 2pm - 8pm

SESSION TWO
Venue: Four Cats Cafe
33-35 Warne St, Wellington
Date: Wednesday 1st November, 2023
Time: 8am - 2pm

If you would like to keep up to date with information about the proposal, including opportunities to attend the information session, please email us at:

engage@nghengage.com.au
July 2023 – Project update

The NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) issued Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) on April 14, 2023, following the lodgement of the Wellington Town BESS Scoping Report earlier in 2023. These documents outline the requirements to be met as part of the next stage in the approvals process, namely the Environment Impact Statement (EIS). The EIS assesses the economic, environmental and social impacts of the project, and assists the community, council, government agencies, and DPE to make a well-informed decision on the outcome of the proposed project.

RWE Renewables Australia has now commenced the EIS phase of the development application, with specialist support being provided by a number of subject matter experts (SMEs). It is anticipated that the Wellington Town BESS EIS will be submitted in early 2024.

The Scoping Report and SEARs are both available on the Major Projects portal.

Scoping Report and SEARs

Community feedback survey

Wellington Town BESS - survey icon | RWE in Australia

Ongoing community feedback is very important to us, and will help inform the project. To provide your feedback, please complete the survey available here.