When Mitch Spinks started work as an electrician at Bayswater coal-fired power station he didn't count on working in the clean energy sector.
Two years later, Mr Spinks is part of the team that has helped bring AGL's 500-megawatt Liddell battery to life.
The $750 million grid-scale battery has reached practical completion following final reliability testing and is now part of the national energy grid.
"There was an opportunity to move over to the battery project and I grabbed it with both hands," Mr Spinks said.
"There are definitely similarities with the thermal generation side of things but there are are also a lot of new technologies that I'm working with."
Charged by renewable energy during the day and dispatching it when demand is high, the project will provide firming capacity to the National Electricity Market (NEM) by helping to balance supply and demand.
The project has attracted significant interest from power station workers who are looking to move into the next phase of their careers.
"There's a lot of interest in it from the guys over at Bayswater. We are planning some tours so they can get a better insight into how it works," Mr Spinks said.
The process to ramp up to full commercial operations began in January and involved progressively testing battery performance and grid connectivity.
The project received official technical sign-off from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) and the local transmission network service provider, Transgrid, late last month.
Final reliability testing was completed this week.
The battery project is the first major development at the former coal-fired power station site and represents a significant step in the evolution of the Hunter Energy Hub.
Options under consideration at the hub include advanced manufacturing, materials recovery and recycling, low-carbon fuels, data centres and other energy-intensive industries.
"On the site of a former coal-fired power station, we're operating one of Australia's largest grid-scale batteries which is storing and dispatching energy to help support the needs of homes and businesses," AGL chief operations and construction officer Matthew Currie said.
Working with construction partner Fluence Energy, more than 700 workers contributed to the battery's construction and commissioning.
"The Liddell project proves that we can successfully transition from legacy fossil fuels to high-tech, clean infrastructure that provides the critical system strength the NEM needs to remain stable," Fluence Australia general manager Jason Beer said.
"This local execution is backed by our global fleet's DNV-validated 99.3 per cent availability, giving partners like AGL absolute confidence in the long-term performance of their investment."
Lumea (a business division of Transgrid) executive general manager Craig Stallan said: "For generations, the Hunter has helped power NSW. The Liddell BESS builds on that legacy by providing storage capacity that supports a reliable electricity system for consumers and communities across the region."
The Liddell battery was one of four battery projects and virtual power plants that were supported through Tender Round 2 of the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap.
"The completion of these batteries and the virtual power plant is an important milestone for NSW," NSW Energy Minister Penny Sharpe said.
"Together, these projects can provide enough firming capacity to meet the peak electricity demand of around 400,000 homes, helping keep the lights on during the hot summer to come.
"These projects alone represent more than $1.8 billion of investment in NSW and have supported more than 1500 jobs."
