Biggest battery unveiled in Queensland as part of post Callide battery blitz

Queensland government owned generator CS Energy is to build a 200MW/400MWh big battery at the Greenbank sub-station on the south-side of Brisbane as part of the state’s “battery blitz” announced following the explosion of the Callide coal generator last year.

The new Greenbank battery – which will be the biggest in the state – will provide grid and other services and will be built on land owned by transmission company PowerLink. It follows an EoI by PowerLink as part of its plans to have batteries installed across the network.

Queensland is only just catching up to big battery storage, with the first installation at Wandoan South – operated by AGL – going through its final commissioning process.

Genex, which is also building the Kidston pumped hydro project in the north of the state, is also building the Bouldercombe battery with Tesla, and CS Energy has previously announced the 200MWh Chinchilla battery to be located near its Kogan Creek coal generator in the south of the state.

“Our state has one of the highest rates of rooftop solar installation in the world,” Treasurer Cameron Dick said in a statement.

“Large-scale batteries like the one planned for Greenbank allow us to capture the energy generated by Queenslanders, and best use it for Queenslanders.

The state 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,” de Brenni said.

“It is part of an innovative partnership between Queensland’s publicly-owned CS Energy and Powerlink, delivering even more reliable, cheaper and cleaner energy for Queenslanders.”

The state is also installing a series of smaller batteries across the grid to support operations. Five have already been installed another 12 batteries, each up to 8MWh, will be build.

“Coupled with the big battery at Greenbank, it’s a baker’s dozen battery blitz creating 336 local construction jobs,” de Brenni 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,” Bills said.

Energy Queensland CEO Rod Duke said the increased number of batteries on the Ergon and Energex networks would allow for better management of the ever-increasing levels of renewable energy being generated.

“Having more storage capacity will enable us to move electricity in both space and time and that will lead to greater network stability and reliability for customers,” Mr Duke said.

Powerlink says it will shortly be contacting landholders close to the Greenbank battery site as details of the project are finalised. It described the project as “Australia’s first truly cooperative BESS utilisation and optimisation scheme, partnering a transmission network provider with a generation and retail business.”

The technology provider for the Greenbank battery has yet to be decided. Construction is due to begin in 2023 and take around 18 months.

See also RenewEconomy’s Big Battery Storage Map of Australia