Spanish giant to add big battery to Queensland solar farm as PV operators choose to go hybrid

Spain-based renewables developer X-Elio will add a nearly 150MW, two-hour big battery to its Blue Grass solar farm in Queensland’s Western Downs, marking its first hybrid solar and storage project in Australia.

The 200MW Blue Grass solar farm was completed in late 2022, backed by a power purchase agreement with US software company Salesforce, and has recently ranked among the nation’s top performing utility-scale PV assets.

X-Elio says the decision to add a 148MW/296MWh big battery to the solar farm will transform it into a hybrid power source capable of providing essential grid services that will enhance energy reliability and grid stability.

Integrating battery systems also allows the solar farm to avoid curtailment by storing excess energy generated during peak solar production hours and release it when demand is high or solar generation is lower.

The battery – a collaboration between X-Elio and technology partners Ingeteam and Narada – will be built in two stages, with the first 60MW stage expected to reach mechanical completion by the third quarter of 2025. A second 88MW stage is expected to be installed by the third quarter of 2026. Details of storage duration were not provided.

X-Elio says the addition of the battery will mark the company’s first hybrid project in Australia – but that will be followed soon by the Sixteen Mile project it is developing, also in the Western Downs, which will combine 350 MW of solar with a 120 MW/240 MWh battery.

“Following our 60 MW BESS project in the US and our entry into the German battery company ECO STOR, we are now continuing to implement our storage strategy in Australia,” said X-Elio CCO Mirko Molinari, on Tuesday.

“This project will support grid resiliency in Queensland and enhance our solar farm’s resilience to price volatility. We are excited about the prospects of BESS in Australia and believe its deployment greatly supports grids with high renewables penetration.”