The Queensland state government said it will develop energy storage and battery industry plans: an Energy Storage Strategy will come out in 2024. It will outline Queensland’s storage and firming infrastructure needs and encourage private sector investment in storage and firming. This strategy will focus on how much storage the energy system needs.
This will follow an energy and jobs plan that targets increasing renewables to 70% of the energy mix by 2032 and 80% by 2035.
The Australian state will also develop a Queensland Battery Industry Strategy. This will help grow Queensland’s local industry for battery minerals, chemicals and advanced manufacturing, it said. It is focused on growing Queensland’s role in the battery supply chain.
To start delivering the storage required now, the Queensland government will invest AU$500 million ($326 million) for more large-scale and community batteries. The plan stated this will support deployment of network batteries of different scales to provide additional energy storage to store excess rooftop solar and improve network resilience.
This new AU$500 million investment builds on the AU$200 million ($130 million) Energy Queensland is already investing in distribution scale batteries. This includes network and pole-mounted batteries, helping to provide reliable electricity supply.
Coal power station sites will be retained and upgraded into “clean energy hubs”. In June, the state announced plans to boost energy storage by 500 MWh.
The government plan’s launch comes just after Victoria announced its first-ever target for energy storage deployment, one of the biggest in the world. The state is aiming for 6.3GW on its grid by 2035. Investment will total AU$100 million, and include a 125 MW big battery.
Queensland State Premier, Annastacia Palaszczuk MP, said since 2015, AU$11 billion ($7 billion) of investments had been made in 50 new Queensland projects and over 7,900 construction jobs across the state. We are well on our way, now powering over 20% of our electricity needs with renewable energy.
“To accelerate our progress, my government is setting new targets for our clean energy system of 70% renewable energy by 2032 and 80% by 2035. Queensland’s Energy and Jobs Plan builds on our investment to date and positions Queensland to have a thriving clean energy economy,” she said.