South East Queensland will be home to the largest utility scale battery in the state as part of an innovative partnership between Powerlink Queensland and CS Energy to deliver more reliable, cheaper and greener energy for Queenslanders.
The partnership will see Powerlink provide land and connection services for CS Energy to install a grid-scale battery, in return for access to a range of system support services.
The 200MW / 400MWh battery will be located in South East Queensland, with Powerlink’s Greenbank substation, south of Brisbane the current preferred location. CS Energy will install, own and operate the battery on Powerlink owned land.
The project was announced today in a media release from CS Energy's shareholding Ministers - the Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick and Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Mick de Brenni.
The Treasurer said large-scale batteries like the one planned for Greenbank would power Queensland towards its 50 per cent renewable target by 2030.
“This is an investment in good clean energy jobs, better grid services, and a great lifestyle for the future,” Mr Dick said.
Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Mick de Brenni said energy storage is the key to unlocking Queensland’s renewable energy revolution and driving down power prices.
“The Greenbank battery will be a game-changer in the way we operate the grid and will be critical for soaking up our sunshine and wind to feed into the system when Queenslanders need it," Mr de Brenni said.
Powerlink Chief Executive Paul Simshauser said the battery will support Powerlink’s important role of guiding the energy transformation in Queensland, while continuing to provide safe, cost effective and reliable transmission services.
“We are very pleased to partner with CS Energy, who already play a key role in our energy industry in this state, and now will be helping to drive Queensland’s energy future,” Mr Simshauser said.
CS Energy CEO Andrew Bills said the Greenbank project marked CS Energy’s ongoing diversification into new energy sources, following its announcement of the Chinchilla Battery earlier this year.
“Adding firm, fast-start generation assets to our portfolio will enable us to more effectively respond to changing demand in the National Electricity Market,” Mr Bills said.
The battery is proposed to be built within Powerlink’s Greenbank site and will connect to the existing transmission infrastructure.
Powerlink will shortly be contacting landholders close to the Greenbank battery site as details of the project are finalised.
More information
Greenbank Large Scale Battery Connection Project