News

A new 500 MW battery energy storage project has appeared in AEMO’s latest project schedule, Point Henry BESS in Moolap, with AGL Energy identified as the developer.

Point Henry, on the eastern side of Geelong, was home to Alcoa’s aluminium smelter from 1963 until its closure in 2014. The former industrial site has since undergone extensive demolition, rehabilitation and redevelopment planning.

Late last year Alcoa had completed an expression of interest process to secure a potential long-term development partner for the site, with further discussions being held “with a development partner expected to be confirmed in early 2026”.

A renewable energy development for Point Henry was proposed in 2017 when Friends of the Earth lead a consortium comprising WestWind Energy, Green Earth Electrical and Manage Carbon for a park incorporating wind, solar and storage projects reusing the former smelter’s electricity infrastructure.

The smelter was supplied through an Alcoa-owned 220kV terminal station, rated at approximately 300 MW, with transmission connections including an AusNet Services line from Geelong Terminal Station in Norlane.

A separate 220kV transmission line connected the smelter to Alcoa’s Anglesea Power Station, which supplied approximately 40% of the smelter’s electricity requirements. Following the closure of both facilities, Alcoa commissioned the removal of the Anglesea–Point Henry line, with more than 42km of transmission infrastructure and 103 towers dismantled by Beon Energy Solutions.

AGL has not publicly confirmed the battery’s precise site, storage duration, connection arrangements or development timetable.