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Quinbrook seeks federal approval for solar farm to help power polysilicon production plant

Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners’ plan to build a polysilicon manufacturing plant in north Queensland has taken a step forward with the infrastructure investor seeking federal approval for a large-scale solar and battery project it plans to build on land adjacent.
David Carroll
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David Carroll
Image: Quinbrook

Australian-owned investment giant Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has submitted its Lansdown West solar and battery energy storage project in north Queensland for assessment under the federal government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.

The proposed Lansdown West project comprises up to 150 MW of solar power generation and a battery energy storage system with a capacity of up to 250 MW and storage duration of approximately eight hours.

The project is planned for a 155-hectare site near Woodstock, about 40 kilometres south of Townsville and would connect to the grid via network operator Powerlink Queensland’s nearby double-circuit 275 kV transmission line.

The Lansdown West project represents the first stage of a much bigger vision, with Quinbrook revealing its proposed Lansdown North solar farm, to be developed alongside the 150 MW facility, will deliver an additional 400 MW of solar generation.

Both projects are to support the energy requirements of Quinbrook’s planned polysilicon production facility to be built within the Lansdown Eco-Industrial Precinct (LEIP).

In referral documents, Quinbrook says the Northern Quartz Campus comprises “a series of advanced manufacturing and battery energy storage projects, which combine to create Australia’s first integrated solution to convert Queensland-mined quartz into high-purity silicon for solar panels and semiconductors.”

Quinbrook unveiled its plans for the $7.8 billion (USD 5.48 billion) polysilicon manufacturing plant in 2023, declaring the facility will source silica quartz from the region and process it to manufacture polysilicon wafers for use in solar panels as well as battery technology.

Since then, the Northern Quartz Campus has been declared a ‘prescribed project’ by the Queensland government and earlier this year Quinbrook secured EPBC approval for its 780 MW / 2,200 MWh Supernode North battery project planned for the Lansdown site. 

Quinbrook said the Supernode North project is designed to facilitate electricity supply for the LEIP, including the Northern Quartz Campus.

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