The second stage of Quinbrook’s Supernode battery energy storage system in Queensland, Australia, has entered commercial operation, bringing the operational project to 520MW/1,858MWh.
Quinbrook has also reached financial close on A$469 million (US$307 million) of debt financing for Stage 3, which will increase the capacity of the site at Brendale, north of Brisbane, to 780MW/3,074MWh.
The financing brings the total raised for the first three stages to approximately A$1.2 billion. Capacity from all three stages is covered by long-term offtake agreements.
Stages 1 and 2 are contracted to Australian energy company Origin Energy. Stage 3 is backed by a 15-year offtake agreement with Queensland government-owned electricity generator Stanwell Corporation.
Chinese battery manufacturer CATL supplied its EnerC Plus systems for the first two stages and will provide Tener S systems for Stage 3. The companies did not disclose the battery chemistry used in the project.
CATL said the EnerC Plus system can be installed back-to-back, reducing the required site area by approximately 20% compared with its earlier EnerC product. Its liquid-cooling system is designed to maintain a temperature difference of no more than 5°C inside each container and support a 20-year operating life.
CATL will also provide condition monitoring, performance tracking, fault response and preventive maintenance under a long-term service agreement.
Tim Horneman, managing director and Australia regional lead at Quinbrook, said: “Achieving commercial operations for Stage 2 means we’ve successfully delivered both Origin-contracted stages on schedule, an outcome we’re incredibly proud of given the complexity of commissioning utility-scale battery storage projects in Australia. With Stage 3 now fully financed, we’ve reached another important milestone in Supernode’s continuing development.
“The ongoing support of our banking partners also reflects confidence in the Supernode project, our delivery track record and the long-term outlook for battery storage in Australia.”
The Supernode site is adjacent to the South Pine substation, a major hub in Queensland’s electricity transmission network. Quinbrook said the location provides approximately 4GW of connection capacity for phased expansion.
CATL and Quinbrook are also developing EnerQB, an eight-hour battery storage system being considered for future stages of the Supernode project.
Image credit: CATL
