Sweden’s OX2 has received the green light to develop a 135 MW solar and storage project in Muswellbrook, New South Wales (NSW). The project, next to a former coal mine, is part of a broader plan to transform the site into an energy and industrial innovation hub. 

The battery energy storage system (BESS) component will also have 135 MW/270 MWh/2-hour capacity. On completion, estimated by 2027, the project will connect to the NSW electricity network. In May 2025, the project had secured conditional approval from the NSW Independent Planning Commission, following objections from the public (see Asia Pacific Solar PV News Snippets: SEC To Power 5% Of Victoria’s Electricity Market With RE & More). 

Approved by the Federal Government under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Act (EPBC), the Muswellbrook project will be developed in collaboration with, and on land owned by, Idemitsu Australia, which shut down the Muswellbrook Coal Mine in 2022. 

Idemitsu Australia plans to repurpose the site into the Muswellbrook Clean Industries Precinct, which will also include pumped hydro, large-scale storage, and green hydrogen.

“This is a leading example of the transition of the Upper Hunter Valley from coal mining to innovative post-mining land uses,” said OX2 Australia’s Director of Development, Catherine Way. “The Muswellbrook solar project is an early mover in the repurposing of a coal mine into an energy generation site and serves as an important test case for the broader region.”

The Upper Hunter Valley falls in the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), the 4th REZ planned by NSW. In February 2022, EnergyCo received responses to the registration of interest (ROI) for close to 40 GW of renewable energy capacity worth over AUD 100 billion (see 40 GW RE Capacity For NSW REZ).

For EQT-backed OX2, the Muswellbrook project is part of its 3.7 GW solar, wind, and storage projects under development and construction in Australia.