The New South Wales (NSW) Government has announced it will be supporting the construction of a new $100 million (US$78 million) battery as part of a plan to substitute electricity generation after the planned closure of the Liddell coal-fired power plant in 2023. The decision comes amid NSW’s recent power grid instability, which saw one of Australia’s largest aluminium smelters forced to power down several times in a month after power shortages and energy prices skyrocketed by 18,000 percent. “The NSW Government is the second biggest energy customer in the state,” NSW Minister for Energy and Environment said in a media release. “This battery will help to keep the lights on and keep costs down during peak energy periods and support more renewable energy to come online.” However, the government will not be paying for the construction of the battery. Instead, it has awarded Edify and Shell Energy a 10-year power contract worth …