The state of Queensland and publicly owned generator CS Energy announced a giant new 100 MW/200 MWh energy storage project, and it selected Tesla’s Megapack to power it.
Australia has proven to be a very important market for Tesla’s energy storage business.
Its flagship Tesla Big Battery project in South Australia became the first of its kind and provided important services to help stabilize the local grid, which has been known for brownouts.
The project influenced dozens of other large utility-scale energy storage projects using Li-ion batteries.
Tesla won many of those projects, especially since the launch of the Megapack, which is geared toward larger-scale energy storage projects.
Now the company is adding another to the list as Queensland announced that it will build a new 100 MW/200MWh energy storage system in Chinchilla, a town a few hours outside of Brisbane, and it selected Tesla Megapack for the project:
The Western Downs role as a pivotal part of Queensland’s renewable energy revolution has taken another important step forward. Publicly-owned generator CS Energy will install a grid-scale battery near Chinchilla to deliver cleaner, cheaper and reliable energy to Queenslanders. The 100-megawatt/200 megawatt hour battery will be made up of Tesla Megapacks and form part of CS Energy’s energy hub at Kogan Creek. Treasurer and Minister for Trade and Investment Cameron Dick said the $150 million project was expected to create up to 80 jobs during construction and up to 10 jobs when operational.
The new battery system is expected to enable the state to better use its renewable energy and stabilize the grid.
Minister for Energy, Renewables and Hydrogen Mick de Brenn commented on the announcement:
This battery represents further diversification of energy and modernisation of Queensland publicly owned power companies. Queenslanders want clean energy, but they also want reliable energy, so the inclusion of batteries into the CS Energy portfolio will support further expansion of their variable (renewable) energy assets alongside existing traditional generation. The Palaszczuk Government is moving quickly to invest in storage solutions that enable the continued uptake of renewables, especially rooftop solar, so more Queenslanders can enjoy the savings.
The Megapacks are expected to be installed and operational by the end of next year.
This new project follows Tesla securing 300 MWh of Megapack orders for three other energy storage projects in the neighboring state of New South Wales just last week.
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Author: Fred Lambert
Source: Electrek
