Edify taps CATL to supply batteries for 2.4 GWh Queensland projects

Chinese battery manufacturer CATL has announced its battery energy storage hardware will be used at Edify Energy’s Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap projects that will deliver a combined 600 MW of solar generation and a 600 MW / 2,400 MWh of storage capacity.

The two projects, being constructed across an 1,800-hectare site near Biloela in central Queensland, will consist of two independent 300 MW solar generating units and 300 MW / 1,200 MWh battery energy storage systems, forming one of the most significant renewable energy developments currently under construction in Australia. 

CATL said the project will utilise its “advanced energy storage solutions integrated with cutting-edge grid-forming inverters employing a reverse DC-coupled hybrid configuration.”

“By delivering highly reliable, dispatchable renewable energy to the local network, these projects establish a new benchmark for utility-scale firmed renewables and accelerates the decarbonisation of Australia’s energy infrastructure,” the manufacturer said.

The awarding of the supply contract comes just weeks after Sydney-based Edify, now owned by Canadian giant La Caisse, reached financial close on the twin projects.

Edify has already begun early works on the sites with DT Infrastructure serving as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor. Edify is targeting delivery and operations in 2028.

Once operational, it is expected the Smoky Creek and Guthrie’s Gap projects will generate up to 1,589,000 MWh of renewable energy annually.

The two projects have locked in a 20-year offtake deal with mining giant Rio Tinto – for 90% of their output to help power its aluminium smelting and refining operations in nearby Gladstone – and they are also supported by underwriting agreements with the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme.