Publicly-owned energy company CleanCo Queensland’s 250MW/500MWh Swanbank battery energy storage system (BESS) has officially registered with AEMO and commenced its testing and commissioning phase.
The battery storage system is located at the former Swanbank coal power station site, approximately 45km south-west of Brisbane in Ipswich, Queensland. It will be sited at the Swanbank B site, which was commissioned in 1971 with four 120MW steam turbines powered by coal and decommissioned in 2012.
The project repurposes retired coal-fired generation infrastructure. The broader site will be developed into a clean energy hub, with potential future additions including wind, solar, hydrogen production and additional energy storage capacity.
Tesla supplied its Megapack solution for the Swanbank project, while Yurika provided infrastructure and installation services. The AU$330 million (US$214 million) development received funding from the Queensland Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Jobs Fund.
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Reusing existing transmission infrastructure at the legacy coal site enables faster deployment and cost-effective integration of the new energy storage asset into the National Electricity Market (NEM).
The system connects to the electricity grid via a new 275kV substation, utilising the established transmission connections that previously served the coal-fired power station.
Commissioning activities are expected to progress through late 2025, with commercial operation targeted for early 2026.
The Swanbank battery joins a growing pipeline of large-scale energy storage projects across Queensland as the state transitions toward higher renewable energy penetration. The project’s commissioning follows the recent registration of Australia’s first 8-hour long-duration energy storage system with AEMO, demonstrating battery energy storage deployments’ increasing scale and duration capabilities.
Queensland’s energy storage sector has benefited from recent policy support, with over 15GWh of energy storage capacity successful in Australia’s Capacity Investment Scheme tender, providing revenue certainty for large-scale battery projects across the NEM.
480MWh Mornington BESS advances through commissioning phase
Meanwhile, engineering, procurement, and construction (EPC) provider ACLE Services has completed construction of the 240MW/480MWh Mornington BESS on Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula and commenced commissioning activities.
The Mornington project, developed by Valent Energy, features a 2-hour duration configuration with 240MW of power capacity and 480MWh of energy storage. The system utilises CATL battery technology and Power Electronics inverters, with ACLE Services serving as the facility’s EPBC contractor.
Valent Energy completed a 12-month construction period for the project, which connects to AusNet Services’ Tyabb Terminal Station. The developer has positioned the Mornington BESS as part of a broader portfolio totalling over 1.6GW of battery energy storage projects across Australia, with backing from Gaw Capital Partners and BW ESS.
The commissioning phase extensively tests all system components, including battery modules, inverters, control systems and grid integration protocols. These final commissioning activities will validate the system’s performance capabilities before commercial operation begins.
