Photomontage & Artistic Impressions — NSW CSSI
Project Overview
The Stratford Pumped Hydro and Solar project (officially known as the Stratford Renewable Energy Hub) is a major clean energy initiative being developed at the former Stratford Mining Complex in the Gloucester Valley, NSW. The project will integrate a 300 MW pumped hydro energy storage system with a 330 MW solar farm, transforming a legacy coal mining site into a long-duration renewable energy asset.
The facility will generate and store up to 3,600 megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity, capable of dispatching reliable, continuous power into the grid over a 12-hour cycle during peak demand.
Construction of this Critical State Significant Infrastructure (CSSI) development will involve major engineering works, including the erection of an upper reservoir on elevated terrain and the reconfiguration of the existing Stratford East Dam to serve as the lower reservoir. The design utilises a closed-loop water system that safely repurposes existing mine void water on-site, eliminating the need to draw from local natural river systems.
Over a four-year building timeline, the project will install thousands of ground-mounted solar arrays, construct a new on-site substation, and connect directly to a Transgrid 132kV transmission line.
Public Viewpoints
Photomontages prepared to NSW Guidelines, showing existing conditions, the NSW photomontage assessment grid overlay, the proposed grid, and the final proposed view.
Client Engagement Journey
Client engagement was initially scoped for Photomontages to support the CSSI planning approvals process.
Multiple viewpoints — both public and private — were identified during the viewpoint assessment process.
The new NSW Photomontage Assessment Tool was used for this project, ensuring compliance with current state guidelines.
Digital terrain and aerial imagery were created from scratch. The client only had a 2D CAD layout of the solar farm — no 3D data existed.
Developed a full 3D model of the site, integrating the solar array, hydro infrastructure and reservoir into the terrain.
Began using the 3D model to explain the project to the client — the visualisations provided clarity that the 2D CAD drawings could not.
Suggested to the client a shift to Artistic Impressions alongside the photomontages to better support broader stakeholder engagement.
Imagery was used to explain the project to the public and stakeholders — communicating scale, impact, and context across the Gloucester Valley.
Generated the final Photomontages and Artistic Impressions for use in the planning approval submission and stakeholder engagement program.
Private Viewpoints
Photomontages produced from privately accessed viewpoints identified during the viewpoint assessment process, following NSW Guidelines for sensitive receiver locations.
Stakeholder Engagement Imagery
Aerial artistic impressions produced for stakeholder engagement, built from real-world terrain and aerial data to show the full project footprint within its landscape context.
Project in the Media
Yancoal
Stratford — Yancoal Australia
News of the Area
Department awaiting Yancoal response to submissions on Stratford project
Paul Scully MP
Six projects declared critical for NSW's clean energy future
Renewable Energy World
NSW Government declares three pumped storage hydro projects critical infrastructure