State-owned energy company Stanwell has today (13 August) announced it has started construction on its 300MW/1,200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at the coal-fired Stanwell Power Station in Queensland, Australia.
Stanwell revealed that bulk earthworks were now underway on the 4-hour duration system, which will cost around AU$747 million (US$482 million). It will include 324 lithium-ion Tesla Megapack 2XL units and be supported via partnerships with Tesla and Australian utility Yurika.
The BESS is central to the government’s plans to transition the site, which is about 22km from the nearest city, Rockhampton, to clean energy resources. The government-owned company intends to transform the power station into the Stanwell Clean Energy Hub.
In May 2024, Energy-Storage.news reported that around AU$448 million of the project’s funding will come via a direct investment from the Queensland government via the Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Job Fund, which was established in 2022 with AU$4.5 billion by Queensland premier Steven Miles’ predecessor Annastacia Palaszczuk.
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Mick de Brenni, the Queensland minister for energy and clean economy jobs, said the project would deliver 80 jobs across its construction period and emphasised the potential of state-owned batteries, stating it means “Queenslanders themselves benefit, not overseas shareholders”.
“This battery project is the largest of its kind in Queensland and will create around 80 jobs in construction. What batteries deliver to the Queensland SuperGrid is reliable power. We want to ensure we maintain downward pressure on power bills for all Queenslanders by building more renewable energy and storage,” Mick de Brenni said.
Construction on 600MWh Tarong BESS reaches halfway point
Stanwell also confirmed that its 300MW/600MWh Tarong BESS had reached the halfway mark on its construction timeline. The AU$514 million system will be an addition to the Tarong Clean Energy Hub.
Construction on the standalone battery storage asset being built at the Tarong Power Station site started in August 2023, with hopes to be fully operational mid-2025. Like the Stanwell BESS, it will use Tesla Megapack 2XL battery units, 164 in total.
Work is now underway to connect the battery units to the transformers.
Michael O’Rourke, CEO of Stanwell, said dispatchable energy assets like its Stanwell and Tarong battery projects are “critical as we transform our energy system”.
“The big batteries will play a crucial role in the energy transformation by stabilising energy supply from clean renewable sources, meaning they’ll be able to be charged by sources like wind and solar and pumped back into the grid during periods of high demand,” O’Rourke said.
“This will ensure affordable and reliable electricity for our commercial and industrial customers in Queensland and the Eastern Seaboard. They are a key piece of our commitment to achieving 5GW of energy storage by 2035 and highlights Stanwell’s vision for a sustainable and innovative energy future.”
The Queensland government has been supporting upstream battery manufacturing and materials refining plans within Queensland, in particular seeking to leverage its advantages as a holder of vast natural vanadium resources, the key ingredient in electrolyte for vanadium redox flow batteries (VRFBs) via its Energy and Jobs Plan, an AU$62 billion overhaul and injection of stimulus into the energy sector and local economy.
