Spanish renewable energy manufacturer X-ELIO announces expansion of Chinchilla’s Blue Grass Solar Farm

A solar farm 14km from Chinchilla will receive a major upgrade over the next two years, increasing the site’s energy storage capacity. Find out more.

Spanish renewable energy manufacturer X-ELIO have announced an expansion of their Blue Grass Solar Farm, located near Chinchilla.

The construction will see the addition of a 148 megawatt Battery Energy Storage System making the site the company’s first hybrid solar and storage project in Australia.

Created in 2022 as part of the effort to reach Queensland’s Renewable Energy Target of 70 per cent renewables by 2032, the farm has a capacity of 200MW and generates 420 gigawatt of green energy annually.

The new facility will be constructed in two stages with a 60MW storage system to be completed by the third quarter of 2025 and a 88MW system to be completed by the third quarter of 2026.

Blue Grass Solar Farm

The new battery systems will allow the solar farm to store excess energy and release it when demand is high or when solar generation is low.

X-ELIO chief commercial officer Mirko Molinari said Australia was the next in line to receive the upgrades.

“Following our 60MW BESS project in the United States and our entry into the German battery company ECO STOR, we are now continuing to implement our storage strategy in Australia,” he said.

“This project will support grid resiliency in Queensland and enhance our solar farm’s resilience to price volatility.

“We are excited about the prospects of BESS in Australia and believe its deployment greatly supports grids with high renewables penetration.”