The Burdekin Shire Council has approved Pacific Blue Australia’s proposed 300 MW expansion of its Haughton Solar Farm near Townsville in Queensland’s north. The renewable energy company’s plans to develop a 200 MW, two-hour battery energy storage system at the site have also been cleared by the local council.
Planning documents say the new 300 MW solar project will be located adjacent to the existing Haughton Solar Farm, that commenced operations in 2019.
The proposed 200 MW /400 MWh battery energy storage system will also utilise available land within the existing development area near Upper Haughton, about 60 kilometres south of Townsville.
Melbourne-headquartered Pacific Blue said both projects will make a significant contribution to achieving Queensland’s renewable energy targets, ensuring the consistent supply of energy throughout the transition away from fossil fuels.
Pacific Blue said the new PV power plant will increase the solar farm’s generation capacity to 400 MW, enough energy output to power approximately 232,000 homes, while the battery energy storage system (BESS) will provide energy storage for a duration of more than two hours, which can be charged by the solar farm and released to the grid as required.
“During its operational life, the Haughton BESS is expected to provide numerous network services including energy arbitrage, frequency control ancillary services (FCAS) and system strength services,” the company said in planning documents.
Construction of the solar project is expected to commence in early 2026 with commissioning from mid-2027. Work on the battery is set to begin in mid-2026 with commissioning anticipated from late 2027.
The development approval of the Haughton Solar Farm expansion comes less than one month after the Burdekin Shire Council approved plans to install more than 1 GW of solar across 1,600 hectares of land adjacent to Pacific Blue’s site.
Cambridge JMD Australia, the renewables arm of Singapore-based fund manager Cambridge RE Partners, plans to construct a 1,065 MW solar farm at Upper Haughton.
The project is to be delivered in three stages, the first of which would comprise 300 MW of solar along with a substation and associated infrastructure. The second stage is to deliver a 205 MW solar facility with the third stage to deliver an additional 560 MW of solar.
Site works for the first stage of the Cambridge Solar Farm are expected to start in late 2025.
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