Renewable energy developer ACE Power has submitted its 3.6GWh 4-hour duration Nebo battery energy storage system (BESS) in Queensland to the Australian government seeking approval under its Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The 900MW BESS project, which will cover 97 hectares, will also include an extension to Powerlink’s Nebo substation. Two underground 275kV circuits will connect the project to this substation.
The project will be located near the rural town of Nebo in the Isaac region, around 956km north of the state capital, Brisbane. It will import electricity from the grid, which will then be stored and exported during peak demand.
According to documents submitted to the EPBC Act, the project will have two 450MW stages that could be developed separately or concurrently. Although the specific details of the BESS technology were not disclosed, the company confirmed that it will utilise lithium-ion technology.
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The project’s first stage will include developing 450MW of BESS, a switchyard, and transmission infrastructure alongside the access driveway to the project site. Stage two will add 450MW of BESS and a second switchyard.
ACE Power confirmed that the construction phase of the Nebo BESS will take 12 to 18 months and is likely to start in the first quarter of 2026, subject to timely planning approval.
Once operational, the project will operate for around 45 years, with a repowering scheduled after the first 20 years. ACE Power secured the rights to the land in the first quarter of 2023.
Another key aspect of the Nebo BESS is establishing a community fund to support the local population. Indeed, the project documents outline that the Nebo BESS community benefit fund is still being developed and refined, and a figure has not been touted at the time of reporting.
ACE Power’s Australian energy storage portfolio
ACE Power is developing several renewable energy projects in New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, and Western Australia, including BESS.
Perhaps the most notable of its projects is the Hillview Energy Hub Project, which is set to feature around 300MW of solar PV and 300MW wind generation in New South Wales. The project will also feature the company’s largest BESS in its portfolio, a 1,000MW/4,000MWh 4-hour duration system. This is dependent on site constraints and market conditions.
It is also worth noting that the project will be situated in the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), aiming to deliver up to 8GW of new transmission capacity to help deliver further renewable energy generation to the grid.
Another large-scale 4-hour duration BESS the company in New South Wales is pursuing is the Talbingo Battery, a 450MW/1,800MWh system located 2.8km south of the town of Talbingo. The project is still in the early stages and will be submitted to the New South Wales Department of Planning, Housing and Infrastructure as part of a State Significant Development Approval application. Construction on the BESS is expected to commence in 2027.
The last notable development is proposed near the town of Claire in regional Queensland. A 140MW solar plus-storage site featuring a 500MW/2,000MWh BESS is being explored.
ACE Power received development approval in October 2017 for a solar PV power plant and BESS on the land. However, the developer is preparing to change the application to include a staged construction plan for both the BESS and the solar PV plant and a proposal for a larger BESS. This application was targeted for submission in the third quarter of 2024.
Energy storage in the EPBC Act
The EPBC queue, administered by the Federal government, aims to protect nationally threatened species and ecological communities. The approval must be received before a project can be developed.
One of these large-scale projects submitted to the EPBC Act includes renewable energy infrastructure developer BE Power Group’s 800MW/9.6GWh Big-G pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) project in Queensland, Australia.
Another project recently submitted to the EPBC Act is Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners’ plans for a 750MW BESS co-located with a proposed polysilicon plant in Townsville, Queensland.
Squadron Energy, a renewable energy developer owned by one of Australia’s wealthiest citizens, Andrew Forrest, entered the EPBC Act to secure consent for an 8-hour duration 1,200MWh BESS in New South Wales, to be co-located with a 300MW wind project.
Similarly, the Australian entity of global renewable energy investor Cubico Sustainable Investments (Cubico) recently submitted two wind-plus-storage projects, both of which include a 200MW BESS, for approval under the EPBC Act.
