80 Tesla Megapacks have formed a 100MW/200MWh battery project in Australia. The Chinchilla Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) connects to the grid near the largest coal unit in Australia, and work to commission it will soon begin.
The 100MW/200MW Chinchilla battery is the first battery built by state-owned generator company CS Energy. It was approved as Queensland’s response to the Callide coal fired generator explosion. The serious incident has convinced the nation’s most coal-dependent state to accelerate its transition to renewable energy and storage.
The Chinchilla battery consists of 80 Tesla Megapack units, according to Renew Economy. It was built next to the Kogan Creek coal generator, which is also owned by CS Energy. The project is expected to be fully operational in early 2024. At the moment, it is registered and officially connected, and commissioning work will soon start.
CS Energy plans to create a clean energy center around Cogan Creek. The battery is one of several large batteries being built in Queensland. The other two are the Wandoan battery and the recently commissioned Bouldercombe battery. Both are already working.
In addition to CS Energy’s contribution, other companies will also accelerate the deployment of large stationary battery projects. Neoen is building the newly expanded 270MW, 540 MWh Western Downs battery in the same region as the Chinchilla battery, while Akaysha Energy is also building the 150MW, 300MWh Ulinda Park battery a short distance from Kogan Creek. Other large batteries currently under construction include the Tarong battery, being built by Stanwell, and which has been newly expanded to 300MW and 600MWh—double the size of the original project specifications—because of the growing need for energy storage, according to the report. CleanCo is also building a 250MW two-hour battery next to the Swanbank power station. Nearby Octopus Energy has unveiled plans for an even larger 500MW two-hour battery called Blackstone.
