Spanish utility Iberdrola's Australian arm has cleared the last regulatory hurdle for the Kingswood Battery Energy Storage System, a 100 MW / 1,080 MWh project near Tamworth in New South Wales. The federal environment minister waved the project through the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act process in just seven weeks, opening the door to construction later this year.
From 270 MW contested proposal to 10-hour LTESA winner
Iberdrola Australia first lodged the Kingswood proposal in 2023 as a 270 MW battery before shrinking the design to 100 MW with up to 10 hours of duration. That reshape qualified the project for one of New South Wales' Long-Term Energy Service Agreements (LTESAs) for storage of eight hours or more, awarded in February 2026. Local opposition pushed the state approval to the Independent Planning Commission, which signed off in March after 34 within-5km objections and a series of community sessions. The June EPBC sign-off — determined "not a controlled action" — was the final domino.
What it does for the grid
Sitting roughly six kilometres south-east of Tamworth, Kingswood plugs directly into the Tamworth substation, a strategically located node on the New England 132 kV network and a magnet for storage developers. Iberdrola's project joins Equis Australia's 250 MW / 500 MWh Calala battery already under construction next door, Valent Energy's 200 MW / 400 MWh Tamworth project nearby, and Trinasolar's 200 MW / 400-800 MWh Burgmanns proposal. Together they will turn a single substation footprint into a 650+ MW storage cluster supporting NSW's coal-to-renewables transition.
Iberdrola's growing Australian fleet
Iberdrola Australia already operates the Smithfield BESS in Sydney and is expanding hard into long-duration storage. The Kingswood approval lands alongside a broader EPBC pipeline of more than 5.5 GWh of Australian storage projects clearing federal review in recent weeks. For background on adjacent projects and the policy backdrop, see our coverage of the Eku Energy 10-hour Griffith battery EPBC filing, the BayWa r.e. / TWAICE Alfeld BESS, and the Greenvolt Buj BESS in Hungary.
Reporting based on coverage from Renew Economy, the Independent Planning Commission of NSW, and Iberdrola Australia.