CleanCo eyes flow batteries in search of 4 hour-plus storage for Swanbank energy hub

Flow batteries could be in the mix at the Swanbank Clean Energy Hub, with the site’s owner looking for long duration storage that can deliver four hours or more of capacity.

Queensland’s CleanCo has called for expressions of interest to add 400 megawatts (MW) of storage and energy generation to the former coal power plant site near the city of Ipswich, west of Brisbane.

While CleanCo is open to a range of ideas, general manager Julie Whitcombe says they are looking for technologies that can work with and abate the emissions of the existing 385 megawatt (MW) Swanbank E gas generator on the site.

“We’ve gone out looking for themes. One is transition-focused gas, because we operate Swanbank E on the site, but we are very committed to getting to net zero so we’re looking for technologies that can enable that kind of dispatchable response… with abatement options,” she told RenewEconomy. 

“We’re very interested in flow batteries, and any other innovative technologies that work with the site.

“There’s a lot of space for quite an urban environment, but it’s not the kind of space that can accommodate wind farms and things like that.”

While keen to encourage renewable gas and green hydrogen that could be used on the site or in the gas generator, they don’t want any production facilities on the site because of its urban location, Whitcombe says. 

Immediate returns and long-term punts

CleanCo is looking for as many as four projects for the site, but what role the organisation will play and how many are ultimately chosen depends on the ideas themselves and the business cases. 

“We are hoping to get a blend of established technologies that we can integrate into our portfolio straight away, but also getting to play in that pilot space and help support that more emerging tech,” Whitcombe says.

“We haven’t constrained the model, so we may have parties that are just looking for a site so CleanCo could just be a landlord. But if participants are looking for equity partnership we could look at that too.

“We’ll look at the mix, then we’ll develop a funding strategy around the projects and the kind of involvement that CleanCo will have in each.”

About 60 entities were represented at the industry briefing on Monday, ranging from developers to startups, with the expression of interest stage set to close on October 20.

Long history with energy

The 336 hectare site has a long history as an energy hub. 

It used to be home to two coal fired power stations, Swanbank A and B, whose last units were closed in 2005 and 2012 respectively, and two small gas generators (Swanbank C and D) that were closed in 2002 and 2004.

CleanCo is already working on installing a 250 MW, two hour (500 MWh) lithium battery, funded with $330 million from the Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund. It’s due to launch in mid-2025 if a final investment decision is made.

The site comes with a 1.2 gigawatt (GW) grid connection, which gives CleanCo significant flexibility in what to put on the site, be it renewable gas to put through the existing generator or emerging storage and generation technologies.

Part of the reason for the call out is that CleanCo has looked at different ideas but hasn’t found one that is the right fit for the site yet, Whitcombe says.