INTHEBLACK July 2025 - Magazine - Page 29
The Wallerawang
Power Station,
New South Wales,
Australia
power station is a very labour-intensive
business, so the transition to labour-lite
is massive.”
UNDERSTAND THE VALUE PROPOSITION
By contrast, developer Greenspot 2845
identified a great opportunity for the
Wallerawang Power Station site “because
they bring a range of shared expertise
and are intent on showing a clear value
proposition for a centre of economic
growth for the Lithgow region,”
Charlesworth observes.
While a battery energy storage system
is being installed on a section of the site,
overarchingly it has been designed for mixed
uses including tourism, residential and retail,
and has carved out a substantial employment
enterprise zone.
There are also masterplans for Swanbank
Power Station, a small site in Ipswich,
Queensland, which is one of Australia’s
fastest growing residential areas. Run by
Queensland Government-owned CleanCo,
the former coal-fired plant has been adapted
to operate as a gas-power plant early
in the transition phase, and there have
been community co-design activities
around further future use.
While a battery will be installed, there’s
an amphitheatre, sports complex and
a walking trail that connects two residential
areas, and locals and visitors can take a ride
on the heritage railway that previously
delivered coal. It’s close to Brisbane,
so universities or start-ups can use sites
like Swanbank as innovation hubs for
new technologies.
Future uses of coal-fired power stations
are subject to approval but open to
the imagination of regional planners,
owners, the community and investors.
They are also catching the eye of data
centre hyperscalers for their proximity
to water and energy.
These sites can play a dynamic role in
future economic development, but decisions
made without a broader plan are risky,
Charlesworth cautions. “A misstep early on
could easily cut off pathways to the future.” ■
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