Canadian gas giant Atco has acquired the right to develop a 325 MW Midwest Pumped Storage Hydropower Project worth US$500 million near Yetholme, Midwestern New South Wales, Australia.

This project marks Atco's first major move into the renewable energy sector in the National Energy Market (NEM), and in view of the fact that the project is at the core of the proposed Midwest-Orana Renewable Energy Zone (CWOREZ) in NSW Status, it will prove to be a very important project.

This 325 MW pumped storage project will be able to achieve an energy storage capacity of 2,600 MWh in up to 8 hours. The project is close to abundant solar and wind energy resources, and is also connected to the 330 kV grid that supports the Sydney Load Center, making it an important grid stabilization project for the NSW Government’s Midwest-Ollana Renewable Energy District.

The Midwest-Ollana Renewable Energy Zone is currently in the early stages of feasibility testing and planning, and will become the first pilot REZ in NSW. It is expected to release up to 3 GW of new renewable energy in the middle of the ten-year plan Power generation capacity.