Townsville heads to battery solution

Queensland’s first community-scale battery is being installed in the solar hotspot of Townsville to support the transition to renewables and provide back-up power to the local community.

Acting Energy Minister Mark Furner said the step was another example of the state-owned energy businesses leading the way on delivering the electricity network of the future.

The battery will charge up on excess solar being fed into the grid during the day and be used to help out during evening peak and temporary disruptions, including storms.

“This is a small but significant addition to Queensland’s publicly-owned electricity system, a system which is delivering cheaper prices on average compared to other mainland states in the National Energy Market (NEM),” he said.

“Battery storage technology is the next stage in steady progress to enabling a renewable energy future and reaching our target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030.

“As the first publicly-owned community scale battery in Queensland, this represents an energy milestone.”

Member for Thuringowa Aaron Harper welcomed the battery’s contribution to reliability for locals  and progress to a renewable energy future.

“This builds on the Palaszczuk Government’s $386 million Powering North Queensland Plan, which is laying the groundwork for renewables in the North,” he said.

The 4MW Tesla battery will be installed at Bohle Plains on Townsville’s northern outskirts in October, with design work underway now and onsite civil works scheduled for late August.

It will form part of Ergon’s virtual power plant, a high-tech control room at Ergon’s CBD headquarters. The Virtual Power Plant has the capability to draw electricity or reduce load from contracted customers around the state to bolster supply to the NEM during peak demand.

One of Queensland’s publicly owned electricity businesses, Yurika, manages the plant.

A dozen suppliers around the state, including zinc producer Sun Metals, are contracted to provide their excess energy to the virtual power plant, which now has access to 135 MW of electricity – about as much as 40,000 rooftop solar systems. 

The virtual plant has supplied power to the NEM 65 times since it was commissioned just under a year ago, including during recent heatwave and evening peaks.

Acting Energy Minister Mark Furner said Townsville was chosen for the grid-connected battery because of the high number of rooftop solar systems and its proximity to electricity infrastructure.

“With around 20,000 residential rooftop solar systems in Townsville, battery storage technology will help ensure power quality and reliability in the local network,” Mr Furner said.

“It is expected to give the local network greater capacity to take on residential solar in Townsville, as well as provide back-up during summer peak demand.” 

“The battery will also take pressure off substations and other power assets and will explore how such technology may allow Energy Queensland to push back spending on some network infrastructure.”

The battery should be operating by the end of this year.

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Media inquiries: Jan Martin 0439 341 314