AGL has secured approval for a 500 megawatt (MW) battery at the Liddell coal power plant.

NSW Government authorities say AGL can move ahead with plans to convert the site from hosting one of the most carbon-polluting baseload generators in the country to a giant battery that can release stored energy on demand.

AGL says it will install the battery in stages, eventually making it one of the largest energy storage systems in Australia. One of the major benefits of the site is its transmission connections into the NSW high-voltage power grid,

The estimated $763 million project should create up to 250 construction jobs. The Liddell battery is part of AGL’s broader plans to build a fleet of batteries with a combined output of 850MW by 2024.