Big battery project offers 75 construction jobs for sacked Whyalla Steel workers

GreenPoint Energy, a Singapore-backed developer, has offered 75 construction jobs to workers displaced by the closure of Whyalla Steelworks. The roles span electrical, technical supervisor, high-voltage industrial, and general construction work at its Koolunga battery project near Brinkworth. The 200 MW/800 MWh facility is expected to begin operations in early 2028. This is one of over 600 job opportunities announced across more than 20 companies in the Upper Spencer Gulf region following the blast furnace closure last month, which cost 500 workers their jobs.

Where this fits

This story illustrates the materials and supply-chain cost embedded in the renewable transition. A large battery storage project creates temporary construction work, but the underlying fact is that Australia is building grid infrastructure dependent on foreign ownership and offshore manufacturing. GreenPoint is a Singapore entity; battery cells, inverters, and power electronics come from China's supply chain. The steelworks closure and job losses highlight a deeper shift: Australia is trading heavy industry for imported renewable components, with labour absorbed into construction phases rather than permanent, domestic manufacturing capacity.

What it means

Job creation during construction masks a structural vulnerability. Australia is outsourcing the production of critical grid technology to strategic rivals while losing sovereign capacity in materials processing and manufacturing. A 75-job construction contract is real relief for displaced workers, but it does not replace the loss of a steelmaking facility. Grid resilience and energy independence require not just renewable capacity, but domestic control over the supply chain that builds and sustains it. Australia currently lacks both.