The Queensland state government in Australia has launched a large-scale energy storage auction programme – calling on firms to start registering their interest in tendering to provide a total of up to 100MW of storage capacity in the state before 2020.
The ‘Renewables 400’ initiative is part of the government’s AUD1.6 billion ($1.2bn) Powering Queensland Plan, launched earlier this year, to help meet the state’s target of generating 50% of its energy needs from renewables by 2030.
Treasurer and acting energy minister Curtis Pitt said at the 7 August launch: “This early registration provides adequate time to ensure firms are ready to hit the ground running when the process opens.”
Pitt said: “The ‘reverse’ nature of the auction process means that companies are encouraged to bid for the lowest price necessary to support their project.”
The government’s selection criteria will include not only price, “but also support for local businesses and jobs and with a view to creating a diverse mix of renewable energy generation and storage to support a secure, reliable and affordable supply of electricity into the future”, Pitt said.
Successful bidders will be awarded financial contracts with the government for some or all of the electricity they generate, which Pitt said “will provide them with long-term certainty allowing them to secure the financing required to deliver their project”.
In a related announcement, Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured) welcomed plans by manufacturer Century Batteries to further expand its production site in southwest Brisbane where it employs more than 300.
The premier said the move followed Century’s “most recent investment” to start producing “the first sealed maintenance free (SMF) battery designed and built in Australia” at its Carole Park plant.
In a separate development, Singapore-based Equis Energy said it had received approval from Queensland’s Western Downs Regional Council to develop the 1,000MW Wandoan South Solar Project (WSSP).
Equis, which describes itself as Asia’s largest independent infrastructure private equity manager, said WSSP would involve a capital investment of about AUD1.5bn ($1.18bn). Construction is expected to begin in 2018, with power starting to be delivered in 2019.
The project, covering 1,424 hectares of land, will be connected to Powerlink’s Wandoan South substation, and will have the ability to add battery storage when commercially feasible.
Last April, Queensland-based firm SolarQ announced plans to develop the largest solar farm and energy storage facility in Australia, with 800MW(ac) of solar photovoltaic and 4,000MWh of lithium-ion battery storage.
SolarQ said the project, in Queensland’s Lower Wonga area, would eventually supply about 15% of the state’s power needs in the southeast.
