Energy company Firm Power is seeking community input into a proposal to build a 200 megawatt battery at Beresfield.
The project, to be located on a 1.5 hectare site next to the existing substation in Whites Road, would form part of a Hunter Dispatchable Energy System.
In addition to Beresfield, the system includes battery projects at Awaba and Muswellbrook.
The system aims to create a distributed stand-alone battery system for the Hunter region, which balances the grid and supports the future uptake of renewable energy in NSW.
The project, currently in the Scoping Report phase, will be assessed under the State Significant Development process.
The company said it expected construction would take between nine and twelve months following planning approval.
The site is expected to operate for about 20 years.
"During this period the operational work will generally involve monitoring, testing and maintenance of equipment as well as receipt of goods, removal of waste and other general site maintenance," the company's website said.
"During this period the site will be monitored and controlled remotely with a few people coming to site periodically for the other activities."
The Hunter Dispatchable Energy System batteries will purchase power from the grid while prices are low and sell back while prices are higher.
They will utilise lithium-ion technology batteries installed in prefabricated enclosures similar in size to standard shipping containers.
"Through regulating the availability of energy, the development will have the capacity to store unutilised energy during low demand and enhance the total supply of energy during high demand," a scoping report for the Awaba project on the Department of Planning's website says.
Firm Power has recently received approval to build the the Western Sydney Smart Battery, a 20 megawatt battery to be located adjacent to the Penrith Zone Substation.
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