THE transformation continues at an old power station site between Bathurst and Lithgow as it readies to host what is described as one of the largest batteries in the world.
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Privately owned NSW company Greenspot - which buys disused fossil fuel industry sites with the intention to give them a new life - bought the 620-hectare Wallerawang coal-fired power station site two years ago.
Greenspot has since almost completed the large-scale partial demolition of the former one-gigawatt coal-fired station, according to Member for Bathurst Paul Toole, who visited the site this week.
He said strategic pieces of infrastructure have been retained to be repurposed into industrial facilities which will replace jobs lost when the power station closed in 2014.
Greenspot CEO Brett Hawkins said 35,000 tonnes of an estimated 45,000 tonnes of ferrous scrap metal "has already been processed on site and sent to NSW steel mills to be turned into new industrial products".
He said upwards of 95 per cent of demolition waste will be recycled.
"As a first step in our repurposing efforts, we have secured approval for a 500MW/1000MWh grid-scale battery, which is one of the largest approved batteries in the world," he said.
"We believe that Wallerawang and the Lithgow area can lead the way in identifying and maximising opportunities as the economy decarbonises."
Mr Toole said much of the existing infrastructure will be able to be repurposed.
"This battery will connect directly to the NSW electricity grid and significantly contribute to reliable electricity supply to the state," he said.
"Attracting major investment to the region like this will help to diversify and build resilience in the Lithgow economy, which has traditionally relied and continues to rely heavily on coal-based industry.
Spectators found views around an exclusion zone at the Wallerawang site in November last year to see the 175-metre chimney stacks and unit eight boiler house go down in dramatic plumes of dust as part of demolition at the location.
"It's a time of mixed emotions because this site has provided so many opportunities for generations of people and dominated the skyline for decades," Greenspot CEO Mr Hawkins said at the time.
Meanwhile, Lithgow Council last month praised the NSW planning department decision to approve the big battery on the site.
"It is not every day that there is formal government approval and strong community support for a $400 million investment in this city," Lithgow mayor Maree Statham said.
"The fact is we are presently witnessing an unprecedented level of investment in Lithgow in new forms of energy generation and storage with a number of major proposals currently being advanced."
