Development of the Stanwell battery, one of Queensland’s largest committed battery projects, has reached its halfway mark.
Stanwell Corporation celebrated the milestone in a LinkedIn post, where its namesake power station will see the installation of 324 8m-long, 38-tonne battery units.
In recent months, the company has transported ten batteries per day from Brisbane to Rockhampton, supporting a project set to have 1200MWh (or a four-hour duration) of capacity.
Stanwell has partnered with Tesla and Yurika to build the battery operation, which was supported in May 2024 by $448.2 million funding from the Queensland Government’s Queensland Renewable and Hydrogen Job Fund.
Stanwell aims to bring the battery operation online in 2027, with development of the Tarong mega battery project also advancing, forming part of the Tarong clean energy hub near Nanango, Queensland. The company reached the halfway point of Tarong development in May last year.
Batteries are playing an increasingly important role in the green transition, with battery energy storage systems (BESS) key to sustaining energy resources over longer periods.
According to the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) 2024 Integrated System Plan (ISP), the local market requires 49GW/646GWh of storage by 2050.
This is part of a plan to quadruple firming capacity from alternative sources to coal, with pumped hydro, coordinated consumer energy resources and gas-powered generation other pieces to the puzzle.
“Investment is needed urgently,” AEMO chief executive officer Daniel Westerman said. “New generation, storage and firming must be in place before coal power stations retire, and to meet Australia’s growing demand for electricity.
“Already this decade, 12.5GW of new utility-scale generation and 1.3GW/1.8GWh of storage has entered the NEM (National Energy Market) and 490km of transmission has been built.”
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