“From coal to gas to battery storage:” CleanCo hits Big Blue Button on big new BESS

Queensland’s newest big battery has reached full operation at the site of a former coal generation hub south of Brisbane, where it will store excess solar energy and help balance the local grid.

The commissioning milestone for the 250 megawatt (MW) 500 megawatt-hour (MWh) Swanbank Battery was celebrated last week by its developer, the Queensland government-owned renewables outfit, CleanCo.

“We’re incredibly proud of the teams behind this project and excited about the role Swanbank BESS will play as it moves through final commissioning and into full commercial operation – another step forward in building a more resilient and dependable energy system for Queensland,” CleanCo said on LinkedIn.

“From coal to gas to battery storage – Swanbank continues to evolve as part of Queensland’s energy future,” the LinkedIn post says.

Made up of 138 Tesla megapacks, the Swanbank Battery Stage 1 was funded with $330 million from the former Labor government’s Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund and makes use of the large, flat, industrial site of the Swanbank B coal plant.

In a separate post, Tesla’s Josef Tadich said the new battery would help reduce electricity prices for Queensland energy consumers while also providing 24/7 system security services for the grid as it transitions to higher renewable penetration.

“It’s systems like this that are accelerating Queensland’s Energy Roadmap, repowering an existing site of the decommissioned Swanbank B coal-fired power station, and complementing the nearby operational Swanbank E GT26 CCGT to meet Queensland’s energy needs,” Tadisch said.

“Thank you for the trust you placed in Tesla delivering and integrating this system into the NEM, even the last-minute addition of a big blue button had it’s challenges but happy to report that it worked as intended!” (See image above.)

Swanbank battery. Image: CleanCo

And while Queensland treasurer and energy minister David Janetzki was on site to help press the novelty blue button, the milestone was quickly claimed by the state’s shadow minister for energy, Lance McCallum, as “a proud Labor project,” kicked off before the change of government.

“Our community remembers when the LNP closed Swanbank Power Station to sell it off,” says McCallum, next to a photo of the sod-turning for the project.

“Labor reopened it and with a bright future as our first Clean Energy Hub – starting with this big battery.

“It’s pretty sad to see the LNP now trying to claim credit for it. Their real legacy so far is record high power prices, cutting energy rebates and driving clean energy jobs and investment into other states.”

Tom Metcalfe, the CEO of CleanCo – which was established by the former Labor Queensland government to drive the transition to renewables – said Swanbank’s rapid response capabilities meant it could dispatch power back into the grid within seconds when needed, enough to power around 355,000 homes.

“Projects like the Swanbank Battery demonstrate CleanCo’s role in delivering practical, future-focused energy infrastructure that supports reliability, affordability and sustainability for Queensland,” Metcalfe said.

“I’m proud of the people behind this achievement and looking forward to the contribution this asset will make as it moves through final commissioning and into full commercial operation.”

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