NSW seeks 1,500 MW of firming power as Hunter coal plants retire
Tanhauser Vázquez R. / PexelsDistant view of a power plant with cooling towers.(File image: Tanhauser Vázquez R. / Pexels)
Newy 87.8 FM – The NSW Consumer Trustee, ASL, has set out a pathway for 1,500 megawatts of additional firming infrastructure to be fully operational by the end of May 2033, responding to a forecast capacity shortfall after the expected closures of the Bayswater and Vales Point power stations.
ASL published its 2026 Firming Infrastructure Investment Objectives Report on 13 October 2026, following a direction from the NSW Minister for Energy in December 2025 to conduct a competitive firming tender.
The 2025 Energy Security Target Monitor found a shortfall of around 1,500 MW in 2033-34 following the expected retirement of Bayswater, near Muswellbrook, and Vales Point, on the southern shore of Lake Macquarie.
ASL says it will target projects that can make a strong contribution to reliability in the Sydney–Newcastle–Wollongong sub-region, opening the door to Hunter projects, though no locations have been named.
Eligible projects must deliver sustained energy for at least eight hours, up from a two-hour minimum in earlier tenders. ASL expects gas-fired generation to be well placed, but alternative technologies are not excluded if they demonstrate a comparable contribution.
Consultation runs until 4 November 2026, with an initial tender planned for 2027 and a possible contingent tender around 2030.
Hunter firming capacity is already contracted, with AGL's 500 MW / 2,000 MWh Tomago Battery expected to be complete ahead of summer 2027-28.
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