Quinbrook seeks approval for large solar farms to help power Australia’s push into making silicon for PV

Australian investment giant Quinbrook is moving ahead with the first of two big solar projects that could one day power its plans to grab a share of the global solar PV supply chain that is now dominated by China.

Quinbrook has unveiled plans to set up a manufacturing facility in north Queensland, with an initial focus on a microchip-grade silicon plant in that will be at least partly powered by up to 500 megawatts of solar capacity and a previously approved big battery.

The developer has filed an application under the federal government’s EPBC Act, for a 150 MW component of that project known as Lansdown Solar West project.Up to 400 MW is being reserved for the bigger North part of the development.

“The purpose of the proposed action is to supply renewable electricity to the Northern Quartz Campus within the [Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct],” the referral says.

“The Northern Quartz Campus comprises a series of advanced manufacturing and battery energy storage projects, which combine to create Australia’s first integrated solution to convert Queensland-mined quartz into high purity silicon for solar panels and semiconductors.”

The industrial hub is about 40km south of Townsville and is where Quinbrook, via its development arm Private Energy Partners (PEP), is putting together an advanced manufacturing site featuring a metallurgical silicon factory, and a wood-burning biochar plant to provide the necessary carbon.

There is also the 780 MW, eight hour Supernode North battery which was waved through the EPBC in March that Quinbrook says will store the excess electricity from the two solar projects.

But Quinbrook says is its still planning to put additional battery storage – up to 250 MW, with eight hours of storage – on site at each of the solar projects as well. 

The Northern Quartz Campus sits north of where the 330  kilovolt (kV) CopperStrong transmission line will hook into an existing 275 kV line heading up to Townsville.

Quinbrook is also behind the separate 780 MW, more than 3 gigawatt-hour Supernode South battery in Brisbane, which is intended to support a co-located data centre. 

Pest infestation

The land where PEP wants to put the first stage of its solar project in the north is currently used for cattle grazing, the EPBC referral says. 

There are however a few patches on the 535 hectare site that have environmental value. 

“Consequently, a large portion of the study area has been cleared and is heavily infested with non-native plant species,” it says. 

“Corridors of remnant and regrowth vegetation persist along the watercourses including Four Mile Creek and Lansdowne Creek and their tributaries that intersect the study area… The disturbance footprint has been optimised to avoid several MNES [matters of national environmental significance] values.”

A desktop survey of the area found 41 threatened flora and fauna species that might be in the area.

Five surveys later, and PEP whittled that number down to six seen on site: the bare-rumped sheath-tailed bat, masked owl, koala, squatter pigeon, and the migratory forktailed swift and eastern osprey.

The EPBC referral also emphasised the range of pests on the site, from feral cats and pigs to cane toads.

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