Upper Hunter residents and businesses will have three opportunities this month to speak directly with AGL about its proposed 800 MW pumped hydro energy storage project at Glenbawn Dam.
AGL will hold community information sessions in Scone, Gundy and Aberdeen on 22 and 23 September, with people invited to meet members of the project team, ask questions and provide feedback.
The sessions come while the Glenbawn Pumped Hydro Energy Storage project remains in its initial investigation phase. AGL currently lists the project’s status as community consultation.
The company has commenced geotechnical investigations and is preparing a scoping report for submission to the NSW Government.
Three Upper Hunter sessions
The first information session will be held at Scone Neighbourhood Resource Centre, 89 Kelly Street, Scone, from 11am to 2pm on Tuesday 22 September.
Two sessions will follow on Wednesday 23 September.
The first will run from 7am to 10am at Gundy Soldiers’ Memorial Hall, 10-12 Duke Street, Gundy. A second will be held at Aberdeen Rose Garden Hall, 4 Segenhoe Street, Aberdeen, from 3pm to 6pm.
People can drop in at any time during the three-hour sessions.
AGL says it is engaging with local residents and business owners, Upper Hunter Shire Council, the NSW and Australian governments, Wanaruah Local Aboriginal Land Council and Wanaruah/Wonnarua Traditional Custodians.
People who cannot attend the sessions can also contact the project team through AGL’s community enquiries channels.
Feedback sought at an early stage
The community sessions are taking place before the project reaches the Environmental Impact Statement stage of the NSW planning process.
AGL says preliminary studies and early community engagement during the scoping stage are intended to identify impacts and issues that will need to be assessed.
The company is currently undertaking studies and site investigations covering potential environmental, social and cultural impacts while continuing to develop the project design.
Once the scoping report has been submitted, the NSW Planning Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements would establish what needs to be addressed in the project’s Environmental Impact Statement.
There would be another opportunity for community involvement later in the process, when the EIS is placed on public exhibition for agency and community feedback.
AGL says the project is considered State Significant Development and would be assessed by the NSW Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure under the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979.
8 GWh proposed for Glenbawn
The proposed project would use the existing Glenbawn Dam, about 10 kilometres east of Scone, as its lower reservoir.
AGL proposes to construct an upper reservoir along with electricity generation and transmission infrastructure on WaterNSW land.
The current project proposal is for approximately 800 MW of generation capacity with 10 hours of storage, equivalent to up to 8 GWh.
Electricity would be used to pump water from Glenbawn Dam to the upper reservoir for storage. When electricity was required, water could be released through generation infrastructure and electricity dispatched into the National Electricity Market.
The proposal developed after Upper Hunter Hydro secured access to WaterNSW land through its Renewable Energy Storage Program. AGL acquired Upper Hunter Hydro and the Glenbawn project in May 2025.
At the time of that acquisition, Glenbawn was described as a proposed 770 MW project with 10 hours of storage. AGL’s current project information now puts the proposed capacity at approximately 800 MW.
The project remains under investigation and has not received planning approval.
