Queensland state-owned gentailer Stanwell has commenced commercial operation of the 300 MW / 600 MWh Tarong battery energy storage system (BESS), co-located with the Tarong coal-fired power station 190 kilometres northwest of Brisbane.
Under construction since 2023, the $514 million (USD 363 million), 2-hour dispatchable energy storage project is now supplying the National Electricity Market (NEM).
Utilising 164 Tesla Megapack 2XL lithium-ion units, each weighing approximately 38 tonnes, installation was completed by state-owned renewable energy services company Yurika.
Image: Stanwell
Stanwell Chief Executive Officer Michael O’Rourke said the first wholly-owned battery project by Stanwell has been delivered end-to-end by its team.
“Stanwell’s deep experience operating and maintaining reliable coal-fired power stations is powering a broader vision, to build a more flexible and reliable energy portfolio to meet Queensland’s growing energy needs,” O’Rourke said.
“This means we can continue to deliver affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for Queensland, our customers and the NEM.”
The Tarong BESS forms part of Stanwell’s wider 2.8 GWh battery firming portfolio, along with the 300 MW / 1,200 MWh Stanwell Battery near Rockhampton, which utilises 324 Tesla Megapack 2XL units.
Stanwell has a capacity purchase agreement for 100% of the stored energy from Quinbrook’s Supernode Stage 3 BESS at Brendale, and an agreement to purchase energy from the 200 MW Blue Grass solar farm, near Chinchilla, 290 kilometres northwest of Brisbane.
This content is protected by copyright and may not be reused. If you want to cooperate with us and would like to reuse some of our content, please contact: editors@pv-magazine.com.
How can you justify a battery costing $25,700,000.00 per year with a 20 year life, maybe, that only provides two hours of life before requiring recharge?