Octopus Australia is pleased to announce a significant milestone for its Blackstone Battery, with the project receiving planning approval from the Ipswich City Council. The 1GWh battery located near Brisbane is one of Queensland’s largest battery storage projects and upon completion will store enough energy to power up to 70,000 homes per day.
Blackstone’s planning approval represents an integral step towards delivering Octopus’s strategy to provide the market with a firmed supply of renewable energy generation by developing large scale energy storage in strategic locations across the National Electricity Market.
Once constructed, the battery project will complement Octopus’s other wind and solar assets in Queensland, including the operational Dulacca Wind Farm and the Ardandra Battery and Solar Farm currently in development. This integration will allow Octopus to shift generation between its assets, optimising supply, and mitigating intermittency.
Given the high volumes of solar generation in Queensland, the Blackstone Battery will play a vital role in capturing energy generated during the day and redistributing it in the evening to meet peak demand periods. The project will also make a significant contribution to the Queensland Government’s commitment to achieving 80% renewable energy by 2035.
Co-Managing Director, Renewables Australia, Sonia Teitel commented “The planning approval for the Blackstone Battery is a significant step towards building Octopus’s integrated portfolio of multi-technology renewable assets. The Blackstone Battery will play a pivotal role in delivering reliable renewable energy generation in Queensland and supporting the state’s transition towards a renewable future.”
Octopus Australia continues to collaborate closely with key stakeholders, including Firm Power and Powerlink, towards the next phases of the project.
