Australian-owned renewable energy investor and developer Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners announced it has secured $722 million (USD 451.5 million) in new debt financing for the first two stages of the Supernode battery energy storage project being built at Brendale, just north of Brisbane.
The battery energy storage system – being built as part of a $2.5 billion battery and data centre integrated facility – is to comprise three stages. Construction of the first and second stage battery systems has already commenced and will deliver a combined nameplate capacity of 520 MW / 1,856 MWh.
Quinbrook is also planning a third stage that it said will raise the battery to a total nameplate capacity of 760 MW / 3,096 MWh, making it one of the largest battery energy storage projects under construction in the world.
Australian utility Origin Energy has signed up for all of the capacity for both the first and second stages of the project while Queensland state-owned generation company Stanwell has inked a long-term offtake contract for the third stage.
Quinbrook Managing Director Brian Restall said those offtake agreements had played a key role in delivering the new debt financing package.
“We are very pleased with the successful close of this financing which reflects the robust qualities of the Supernode project, especially the offtake partnership we have agreed with Origin Energy,” he said.
The new finance has been provided by a syndicate of banks including the Commonwealth Bank of Australia, the Bank of America, Deutsche Bank, Mizuho Bank and Japan’s MUFG Bank.
“We are grateful for the strong support received from both our existing and new financing partners who recognise the critical role that large-scale storage investments provide in supporting Queensland and the wider National Electricity Market as the energy transition accelerates,” Restall said.
The first stage of the Supernode battery energy storage project is expected to be delivered later this year with further expansions to follow.
Quinbrook said when operational, the Supernode battery will enable the efficient storage of surplus solar energy generated at any time of day and ‘time shift’ that stored energy to evening peak periods.
The Supernode project is being developed on a 30-hectare site adjacent to the South Pine substation, the central node of Queensland’s electricity grid where more than 80% of all power capacity located in the state transmits to.
