A Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners portfolio company is set to commence building a 250MW/500MWh battery storage system in Queensland, Australia.

The start of the battery energy storage system (BESS) construction signifies the initial phase of the ‘Supernode’ project, an AU$ 2.5 billion (US$1.63 billion) data centre complex powered by locally generated renewable energy. 

Plans include scaling up the battery storage system’s output to 2,000MW, after the acquisition of local planning permissions in 2022 for four multi-tenant data centre campuses.

Stage 1’s full capacity has been secured through a contract with Origin Energy, a privately owned electricity generator-retailer (‘gentailer’). 

Quinbrook, headquartered in the US, specialises in energy transition investments, focusing on renewables, energy storage, and grid infrastructure. 

Since its establishment in the 1990s, Quinbrook has invested approximately US$8.2 billion in equity across projects in the US, UK, and Australia.

The portfolio company spearheading the Queensland project, also called Supernode, specialises in developing “hyperscale” sustainable data centre campuses along the East Coast of Australia. 

Supernode focuses on identifying sites with unique advantages such as land availability, local renewable resources, fibre internet access, water and utility access, and existing infrastructure. 

According to a 2022 release from Quinbrook, the Brendale project will benefit from an existing substation at South Pine, offering up to 800MW power supply capacity from three separate high-voltage connections. 

Queensland ministers highlighted that the new battery energy storage system (BESS) will facilitate the integration of wind and solar PV generation while reducing reliance on coal, still the state’s primary electricity source, and other polluting energy sources.

 Queensland recently unveiled its roadmap, outlining plans for 12 Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) multi-technology generation and storage sites across the state.

Queensland Premier Steven Miles and Energy Minister Mick de Brenni jointly announced a couple of days ago that the Brendale project, situated in the Moreton Bay suburb, has successfully reached financial close.

News source and featured image from Energy Storage News