Tesla takes control as Bouldercombe battery gets green light just six weeks after Megapack fire

The Bouldercombe big battery in Queensland has been given the all clear to operate at full capacity by the Australian Energy Market Operator after successfully completing its commissioning process, just six weeks after a fire erupted in one of its Tesla Megapack modules.

The 50 MW, two hour (100 MWh) Bouldercombe battery will be the second big battery to be switched on in the Queensland grid, following the 100 MW, 150 MWh Wandoan South battery that joined the grid in 2022. But it will be followed by many others.

Genex Power said on Friday that the project will initially operate with only 38 of its 40 Megapack modules, with Tesla due to replace two modules by early December, including the one damaged by the fire on September 27, and a neighbouring module that could have been impacted by the heat of the fire.

The battery will be operated by Tesla – using its “autobidder” system – and the two companies will share the profits under a unique agreement that was first announced early last year.

Genex is also working on its much bigger storage project, the Kidston pumped hydro scheme, which is sized at 250 MW with eight hours storage (2,000 MWh) and is due to be complete by the end of next year.

That project, remarkably for a civil construction project, is largely within budget and timeframes, and recently completed its main tunnelling. It is being built in and around a former open pit gold mine, and Genex is looking to add a 258 MW wind farm to the precinct that already features the 50 MW Kidston solar farm.

Genex is also embarking on what could be the biggest solar project on the country’s main grid after landing a 25-year contract for 337 MW of solar capacity at Bulli Creek with Andrew Forrest’s Fortescue Metals for its green hydrogen and green ammonia plans at Gibson Island in the port of Brisbane.

The company is currently looking for more customers, but says the solar project will be sized at a minimum 450 WM and possible 750 MW. Large battery storage facilities will likely follow at the same site.

The Bouldercombe battery will deliver a significant uplift in revenue for Genex, and is expected to bring in about $15 million a year to Genex under its revenue sharing deal with Tesla, although this will depend on the volatility of the market.

That will effectively more than double its current income which is sourced from its two operating solar farms at Kidston and Jemalong, both of which are 50MW.

“It will be great to be able to tap into some of the upside of the market,” Francis told RenewEconomy in the latest episode of the weekly Energy Insiders podcast.

See also RenewEconomy’s Big Battery Storage Map of Australia