X-Elio seeks green tick for 350MW solar farm and two-hour big battery in Queensland

Spain-based renewables developer X-Elio is seeking federal environmental approval for its plans to build a 350 MW solar farm and 120 MW, two-hour big battery in Queensland’s Western Downs region.

The Sixteen Mile solar farm and battery is proposed for construction in the rural town of Hopeland, around 100km north-west of Dalby, on land that X-Elio says has been previously cleared for grazing and cropping.

According to an application for assessment under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act (EPBC Act), the solar farm and 120MW/240MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) would connect the existing Western Downs Substation via a new 7.4 km powerline.

“The project’s purpose is to provide a large output capacity of renewable power supply, that will contribute to the state and national decarbonisation goals whilst the BESS will provide frequency regulation services to support grid reliability,” the EPBC documents say.

The application notes that the project is also seeking approvals from the state government and Western Downs Regional local council, which is the planning authority responsible for assessing the development applications for the solar farm, BESS, and powerline.

According to the recently published 2024 Western Downs Development Status report, the council has approved 24 solar farms in the region, as well the Dulacca and Wambo wind farms and the renewables-based hydrogen plant at CS Energy’s Kogan Creek Power Station.

The report shows another 13 renewable energy projects being proposed for the region, including the X-Elio’s Sixteen Mile solar and battery project.

“The Western Downs is proudly ‘The Energy Capital of Queensland’ and we are leaders in wind, solar, hydrogen, coal and gas energy, producing power for more than two million Australians,” says Western Downs Regional Council Mayor Andrew Smith.

“Our energy mix harnesses traditional and renewable power generation, with our region leading the way in renewable project investment.”

X-Elio, which is co-owned by US investment firms Brookfield and KKR, has a history in the Western Downs region, having previously built the 200 MW Blue Grass Solar Farm, near Chinchilla.

The company is also developing the 90MW Forest Glen Solar Farm near Dubbo in New South Wales. That project, which will include a 25MW, one hour battery, was approved last year by the NSW planning department.