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- Queensland
- Renewables
This was published 4 years ago
Queensland battery to size up to Elon Musk's in SA
By Stuart Layt
The biggest battery ever constructed in Queensland will be built over the next year, adding certainty to the power grid as it transitions towards renewable energy.
The 100-megawatt battery has been commissioned by AGL Energy and will link to its Coopers Gap Wind Farm near Wandoan on the Western Downs.
AGL chief executive Brett Redman said the battery would add certainty to the existing renewable energy sources by providing baseload power consistency.
An artist's impression of the battery facility near Wandoan.
“Batteries will be pivotal to providing firming capacity when the sun isn’t shining and the wind isn’t blowing, and the market needs the capacity,” Mr Redman said.
“We'd all like to see some more depth in the market. The answer for energy reliability and to keep costs down is good-quality investment."
The $120 million battery will be built by Vena Energy Australia from July, and is expected to take 18 months to complete.
Vena Energy chief executive Nitin Apte said the battery would be the largest of its type in Queensland and the second-largest in the country.
In 2017, Tesla billionaire Elon Musk famously proposed to install a battery in South Australia in 100 days to solve its energy problems. The state government took the entrepreneur at his word, and transformed its power grid in the process.
“As of now the battery is sized to be equivalent to the [Tesla] battery in South Australia,” Mr Apte said.
“By the time our battery is completed we understand the South Australian battery will have been augmented and so will be slightly larger.”
The battery will also link with Vena Energy's $650 million and 1000-megawatt Wandoan South solar project, which will open in 2021.
Vena Energy CEO Nitin Apte (left), Queensland Energy Minister Anthony Lynham (centre) and AGL CEO Brett Redman (right) sign the agreement for the new battery project.Credit: Stuart Layt
Once complete, the Queensland battery will be able to store 150 megawatt hours of electricity, capable of supplying up to 57,000 homes with energy
The battery project represents the latest move by AGL to pivot towards renewable energy generation. The company owns significant coal assets.
It also represents another step in the Queensland government’s push towards its target of 50 per cent of the state’s energy coming from renewable sources by 2030.
State Energy Minister Anthony Lynham said the project confirmed Queensland as the renewable energy powerhouse of the country.
"The climate-change deniers criticise renewable energy for not being available when the sun doesn't shine and the wind doesn't blow. Batteries are a game-changer," Dr Lynham said.
“More [renewable] supply coming onto the market means cheaper power prices for Queensland families.”
Vena will own and operate the battery storage system while AGL will have full energy dispatch rights, with Dr Lynham confirming state-owned Powerlink would assist with connecting it to the national grid once it is online.
The minister confirmed at the announcement on Wednesday that the Adani coal mine in Queensland’s Bowen Basin was still set to go ahead, despite opposition to the project from environmental groups.
“We’ve seen announcements today that manufacturing is under way in Mackay for the equipment required for that mine,” Dr Lynham said.