Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) and EDP Renewables Australia have signed an exclusivity agreement to develop a 1,600MWh solar-plus-storage project in Queensland’s Toowoomba region.
Punchs Creek Renewable Energy Project combines a 400MWac solar PV facility with a co-located 400MW/1,600MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).
The partnership marks EDP’s first large utility-scale project in Australia and the first step toward a potential long-term collaboration between the Portuguese energy company and the Australian state-owned institutional investor.
QIC and EDP confirmed that the project is expected to reach financial close in 2026, with EDP currently in advanced discussions for a long-term offtake contract.
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The Punchs Creek project comprises 480MWp (400MWac) of solar generation paired with the 4-hour duration battery energy storage component, positioning it among the larger hybrid renewable energy developments in Australia’s pipeline. It will be connected to Australia’s National Electricity Market (NEM).
Readers of Energy-Storage.news may be aware that, in October 2025, the project secured a generation revenue scheme under the Australian government’s Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS) Tender 4, which awarded 11.4GWh of solar-plus-storage projects across multiple developments.
The CIS framework provides revenue certainty for renewable energy projects by offering underwriting agreements that guarantee minimum revenue streams.
Miguel Fonseca, CEO of EDP Renewables APAC, described the partnership with QIC as marking another milestone in EDP’s strategy to expand its renewable energy portfolio across the Asia-Pacific region.
“EDPR views Queensland and Australia as key markets with strong fundamentals for renewables and is focusing on scaling hybrid projects, with the aim of deploying material capacity by 2030 as part of a longer-term pipeline of about 4GW,” Fonesca said.
QIC has a major presence across the Australian market. The Queensland-based institutional investor manages assets across multiple sectors and has established expertise in renewable energy project development and financing within the Australian market context.
The exclusivity agreement structure provides both parties with a framework to evaluate the potential of the partnership while advancing project development activities. This approach enables detailed due diligence and project optimisation before committing to final investment decisions and construction timelines.
Meanwhile, EDP Renewables operates renewable energy projects across four continents, bringing international expertise in large-scale solar and battery energy storage system development to the Australian market.
Queensland has become a hub for utility-scale battery storage systems in recent months, despite the state government’s shift in energy policy away from variable renewable energy generation.
Indeed, the state’s hotly debated Energy Roadmap 2025 was released earlier this year, with the plan establishing that Queensland will target 4.3GW of short-duration energy storage by 2030 and an additional 4GW of medium-duration storage by 2035.
Despite this positive for battery storage, other technologies, such as pumped hydro, have seen their original vision scaled back. Having cancelled the 5GW/120GWh Pioneer Burdekin Pumped Hydro Project, once touted as the world’s largest, the state will now focus on multiple smaller pumped hydro projects through coordinated assessment.
The state government stated that four major projects remain under active consideration, each representing a distinct approach to long-duration storage.
Australia approves Samsung C&T’s 300MWh solar-plus-storage project in 19 days
In other news, the Australian government has approved the 300MWh Dunmore solar-plus-storage project near Toowoomba, Queensland, completing the environmental assessment process in just 19 days.
Australia’s environment and water minister, Murray Watt, announced the approval, highlighting the project’s strategic site selection, which eliminated the need for new transmission lines or substantial land clearing.
The solar project, developed by Samsung C&T Renewable Energy Australia, will be constructed on previously cleared land, demonstrating how appropriate site selection can expedite the approvals process for renewable energy developments.
As previously reported by, Energy-Storage.news, the project will incorporate a 150MW/300MWh BESS located at the project site. It will also include a 300MW solar PV power plant co-located.
This approach avoided the complex planning and environmental challenges typically associated with new transmission line construction, contributing to the rapid approval timeline.
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