Port of Newcastle
Clean Energy Precinct

Clean Energy Precinct

Port of Newcastle’s Clean Energy Precinct will drive Australia’s clean energy future, enabling hydrogen and ammonia production, storage, and export.

Spanning 220 hectares at Kooragang Island, it will position Newcastle as a global hydrogen leader and cement the Hunter Region as a clean energy powerhouse by 2030. The Precinct will offer shared infrastructure for efficient, large-scale energy storage, transport, and export.

With three of NSW’s top five energy users nearby, along with access to the Hunter’s gateway projects and the State’s Renewable Energy Zones, the Clean Energy Precinct will connect renewable projects, production facilities, and the Port’s deepwater channel to help power Australia’s shift to clean energy.

Project Overview

coNEXA is expanding the existing Kooragang Industrial Water Scheme (KIWS) to provide 22.6 ML/day of recycled water to Port of Newcastle’s Clean Energy Precinct (CEP).

Hunter Water’s Edgeworth and Toronto Wastewater Treatment Works (WWTW) will provide the primary source of water, treated effluent that would otherwise be discharged to the ocean.

The following infrastructure will be required to be modified or constructed to supply the Clean Energy Precinct with recycled water:

Edgeworth and Toronto WWTW modification

Edgeworth and Toronto WWTW will be modified to facilitate the diversion and transfer of treated effluent to the bulk storage.
The proposed modifications include upgrades to the existing pump station/s and/or installing new effluent transfer pump stations and diversion pipework.
The proposed modifications are essential for enabling the recycled water infrastructure for the CEP and will be assessed as part of this State Significant Infrastructure application.

Bulk storage

A bulk storage is proposed to maximise the volume of treated effluent that may be extracted from Edgeworth and Toronto WWTW.
The bulk storage will be lined and operated to prevent potential overflow of treated effluent.
coNEXA is investigating potential locations for the bulk storage near Edgeworth WWTW. This will facilitate the interface with Hunter Water and achieve an acceptable buffer of the bulk storage from residential areas.

Transfer pipelines (and supporting infrastructure)

A new ~600m pipeline will transfer treated effluent from Edgeworth WWTW to the nearby bulk storage.
A new ~17km pipeline will transfer treated effluent from the bulk storage to the existing KIWS facility and / or coNEXA Future Advanced Water Treatment Plant (CFAWTP) at the CEP via a pump station and break pressure tank, enabling gravity flow from the tank to the treatment facilities.
The pump station will operate (start and cease) based on the water level in the break pressure tank.

Water treatment

To meet the water demand of the CEP in addition to existing recycled water demands, a facility nominally three times the capacity of the existing KIWS facility is required.
The existing KIWS facility is proposed to be integrated with the CFAWTP to optimise the scheme. This integration will enhance operability, reliability and maintenance by utilising the available space and capacity of the existing KIWS facility, along with the footprint at the CEP.

Brine connection transfer

The KIWS facility/CFAWTP will produce a brine by-product, which is proposed to be transferred via pipeline to Mayfield West and discharged at an approved location into the Hunter Water Burwood WWTW catchment under a trade waste agreement.