$450m battery storage project approved for Lower Wonga
A massive battery storage project off the Bruce Highway north of Gympie has cleared a major hurdle and should be up and running by 2026. Vote in the poll:
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The Lower Wonga Battery Energy Storage System near Gympie has secured approval from Powerlink and the Australian Energy Market Operator to be connected to the National Energy Market.
The project was approved by the Gympie council in July 2023 and will be located several hundred metres from the $130m Lower Wonga Solar Farm. Work is expected to start on construction in late 2024 and the facility to be up and running by 2026.
It is being built, managed, and owned by Energy Infrastructure Australia, an Equis Australia company, which is developing a portfolio of 17 battery projects across Australia totalling up to 4.4 GW of battery storage.
“The $450 million BESS at Lower Wonga has a battery energy storage capacity of up to 200MW and a discharge capacity of up to 800MWh, which is enough power to supply electricity for up to 53,000 homes for four hours,” Equis Australia managing director Mahesh Reddy Indluri said.
“The project will help to secure affordable, clean, and reliable electricity for Queensland’s future electricity demands. The BESS will create approximately 115 full-time jobs during construction and operations, and fund programs targeting local needs considering feedback from the community.”
Mr Reddy said the Lower Wonga BESS would allow for more solar and wind energy to be integrated into the grid, helping to reduce grid volatility, lower electricity prices and the need for expensive new power stations.
The BESS will be connected to the electricity grid via a transmission line to the 275kV Woolooga Substation, Equis investment director Roby Camagong said.
“Making the transition from fossil fuels to ‘baseload’ renewables, the ability to store and dispatch energy will play a key support role to provide rapid-response services to grid contingency events such as outages or heat waves,” he said.
“Grid-scale battery storage fills this key short-term role.”
Equis participated in the annual Fraser Coast and Gympie Regional Projects Industry Briefing and said it looked forward to partnering with local and regional businesses to deliver the project.
Mr Camagong said the BESS project would provide significant local benefits during construction and operation, including investment in the local economy.
“We will be in a position to start work later this year and be operational by 2026.
“Across Australia, Equis is committed to investing in and delivering renewable assets that will support Australians and the local communities in which they live for generations to come” Mr Camagong said in the statement.
Mr Reddy said Equis was developing a pipeline of battery storage and wind generation projects in Queensland, including the recently announced Jackson North Wind Farm in Woleebee.
ABOUT EQUIS
Equis Development Pte Ltd is Asia-Pacific’s leading renewable energy investor, developer and operator with a
successful track record of having developed 240 projects across the region. Its major shareholders are
the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board. Equis has offices in Australia, South
Korea, Japan and Singapore.
In Australia, Equis is headquartered in Melbourne and employs more than 50 staff across Melbourne, Sydney
and Brisbane. Equis’ Australia portfolio includes 17 battery energy storage systems, 11 onshore wind projects and
8 other projects across the country, totalling 9.6GW of renewable energy capacity for Australia.
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