The NSW government has approved two new battery storage projects which will be constructed in Renewable Energy Zones in the state’s Central-West Orana and Upper Hunter regions.

The projects will help secure power supply to around 100,000 homes, the government says, with the batteries providing energy during peak power consumption times and backup during outages or extreme weather events.

It’s also hoped they will remove the need for distribution upgrades or emergency generators.

The projects in Apsley (Central-West Orana REZ) and Muswellbrook (Hunter Central Coast REZ) will see the construction of 120-megawatt and 150-megawatt battery storage systems which will connect to the existing electricity network.

The system is expected to be operational towards the end of 2025, with a 20 year lifespan.

The government says the approval of the Apsley and Muswellbrook projects bring it closer to its goal of providing 12 gigawatts of renewable energy by 2030 in line with the Renewable Energy Roadmap.

“Batteries are not only critical to supporting our state’s transition to net zero, they will assist us to get there sooner,” energy minister Penny Sharpe said in a statement.

There are currently 27 large-scale renewable energy, transmission lines and storage projects under assessment in the NSW planning system. If approved, they would provide 9 gigawatts of renewable energy and 5.5 megawatts of firming storage.