One of a suite of new big batteries to soon join the grid in Queensland has been registered and officially connected, with work on commissioning to start soon.
The 100MW/200MWh Chinchilla battery is the first to be built by state-owned generator CS Energy, and was committed as part of the state’s response to the explosion in the Callide coal fired generator, which convinced the country’s most coal-dependent state to accelerate its switch to renewables and storage.
The Chinchilla battery, which features 80 Tesla Megapack modules, is being built next to the Kogan Creek coal fired generator, which is also owned by CS Energy and which at 750MW is the single biggest coal unit in the country. It is expected to be fully operation in early 2024.
CS Energy plans to develop a clean energy hub around Kogan Creek, and the battery is one of a number of big batteries that are being built on the Queensland with two – the Wandoan battery and the newly commissioned Bouldercombe battery already operating.
Neoen is building the newly expanded 270MW, 540 MWh Western Downs battery in the same region as the Chinchilla battery, while Akaysha Energy is also building the 150MW, 300MWh Ulinda Park battery a short distance from Kogan Creek.
Other big batteries currently under construction include the Tarong battery, being built by Stanwell, and which has been newly expanded to 300MW and 600MWh – double the size of the original project specifications – because of the growing need for energy storage.
A 250MW, two hour battery is also being built by CleanCo next to the Swanbank power station, while nearby Octopus Energy has unveiled plans for an even bigger 500MW, two hour battery called Blackstone.
Queensland has sourced just 28 per cent of its power needs over the last 12 months from renewables – the lowest of any state in the country – but it has targets of 50 per cent renewables by 2030 and 80 per cent renewables by 2035.
See RenewEconomy’s updated Big Battery Storage Map of Australia
