Category: News

 

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with CS Energy and the Bowen Renewable Energy Hub.  

This MoU is for the PHES (Pumped Hydro Energy Storage) component of the project. 

PHES works by cycling water between an upper and lower reservoir. During low electricity demand periods, water is pumped from a lower dam to a higher one, where it is stored as potential energy until it is needed. The water is then released later when demand is high to power a turbine to produce electricity. In this way it works like a giant rechargeable battery. 

PHES can produce large amounts of electricity over a long duration so can provide reliable and dispatchable generation. 
 
The Bowen Renewable Hub (located in the Mackay hinterland, on Widi Country) is a 1.4 gigawatt integrated renewable and energy storage project that is being developed by Bowen River Utilities and Renewable Energy Partners.  
 
CS Energy is considering multiple options for participating in the PHES component, including a power purchase agreement, equity funding and project operations. 
 
Stage 1 is expected to be online by 2028 and has been designed to deliver 750MW and 16hrs of storage (12,000MWh).  

By 2033, Stage 2 is expected to be online and delivering an additional 12,000MWh of storage.  

This exciting project demonstrates how CS Energy continues to diversify our portfolio to ensure a balanced mix of energy sources to support our customers’ requirements and Queensland’s energy needs. 

Watch this video below to learn more about the project. 

 

The changing energy market requires targeted investment in a mix of flexible low-emission technologies to deliver more reliable, affordable and sustainable energy.

To achieve this, we need to be planning and investing now, to ensure these game-changing technologies will be available when needed.

Battery storage technology has developed at incredible speed in recent years due to its ability to respond rapidly to changes in the energy market or power system.

Queensland is leading the way when it comes to energy storage innovation and investment, as seen recently through CS Energy’s partnership with Powerlink on the Greenbank battery project.

Energy storage is rightly dubbed a “game-changer”, but what exactly is it?

Put simply, energy storage is the capture of energy (using an accumulator or battery) that is produced at one time of day for use later on. This helps to reduce imbalances between energy demand and energy production.

Queensland is the perfect location to invest in energy storage projects because there’s so much solar and wind energy available to soak up and store to feed into the energy system when homes and businesses need it most. 

As part of its Future Energy strategy, CS Energy is also investigating investments in other forms of energy storage, including pumped hydroelectricity storage (PHES) and renewable gas.

PHES involves circulating water between an upper and lower reservoir which is then released through a turbine to generate power.

Renewable gas involves using low or no emissions alternative fuels such as hydrogen fuel in a combustion chamber and turbine to produce electricity.

CS Energy is looking to integrate a range of storage assets into its portfolio to meet evolving energy systems needs and customer expectations, while putting downward pressure on prices and transforming its generation portfolio.

With the technology firmly established, the race is on to roll energy storage out to support renewables as part of the global energy transformation.

However, as with any new technology comes questions. So as part of the conversation about our future energy needs, we’ve compiled a few handy facts about energy storage.

1. Energy storage is reliable and predictable
   • Many energy blackouts are most often caused by problems with the transportation of electricity, rather than how the energy was actually generated. For example, in the past decade over 97 per cent of outages across the National Electricity Market can be traced to the poles and wires that transport power to homes and businesses. (Source: Grattan Institute)
   • Although batteries and PHES can only “discharge” (supply energy) for a set number of hours every day (depending on the storage capacity and charging strategy), it is often during periods of peak demand on the grid when they are needed the most.
   • Another benefit of storage is its reliability and convenience as batteries can be activated in just fractions of a second and start discharging energy immediately. And of course, the beauty of batteries is that they can capture excess energy that would otherwise be lost.
2. Batteries are safe
   • Australia has one of the most robust safety standards and enforcement regimes in the world and there are stringent standards and procedures to ensure customer safety.
3. Batteries are becoming a more affordable option for communities and homes
   • Battery storage technology continues to become cheaper, more efficient and more flexible as it evolves and is rolled out around the world.
   • By locating energy storage systems closer to the end-users, governments and industry spend much less on interconnection, transmission and distribution network infrastructure.
   • Virtual Power Plants (VPPs) are another great solution for communities and homes. VPPs are a network of connected solar batteries that can be coordinated like a pop-up power plant, with the energy discharged from each battery being used to provide a large bank of controllable solar energy. This energy can then help stabilise the grid and reduce reliance on coal power, therefore creating a future where energy is more affordable and renewable.
4. Energy storage is a growing industry, creating jobs and economic opportunities
   • The growing demand for energy storage suggests there will be enormous demand for specialists in the development, construction, deployment and management of the Australian battery industry.
   • With Australia’s R&D infrastructure, a highly-skilled workforce and a commitment to a decarbonised energy future, energy storage represents a transformational opportunity to evolve, develop and transfer skills so Australians working in the energy industry don’t get left behind as the country transitions to renewables.

Learn more about CS Energy’s work with batteries here.

CS Energy is excited to announce two new appointments to the CS Energy Executive Leadership Team which will help the company lead Queensland towards a decarbonised energy future.

Emma Roberts has been appointed Executive General Manager Future Energy and will spearhead several significant projects such as the Kogan Renewable Hydrogen Demonstration Plant, the Chinchilla and Greenbank battery projects and a number of renewable energy investments.

Emma has a deep understanding of the energy market and the dynamic challenges and opportunities ahead. Emma has been acting in the role since the Future Energy division was established in 2021.

Barry Millar, our new Executive General Manager Asset Management will lead CS Energy’s holistic approach to asset management. He joins us from AGL and brings significant expertise in maximising the performance of plant and engineering services.

These appointments are incredibly important to the future direction of CS Energy as we strive to find new opportunities and creative solutions for a diversified energy future. 

As we have seen recently, reliable energy is fundamental to Australia’s prosperity, and never before has the community been so focused on how we achieve a truly sustainable energy future.

Our mission is to deliver the energy needs of today, while planning and investing and for tomorrow’s changing energy needs and lead the industry in meeting Queensland’s 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030. 

CS Energy is delivering new energy solutions that are developed and tailored for Queensland’s future energy requirements and that will make a meaningful difference to the future we leave for generations to come.

Emma and Barry are passionate about their roles and we are delighted to have them on board.

Learn more about what we’re doing in the Future Energy space here.

Big battery blitz a “game-changer” for Queensland’s energy needs

A new 400MWh battery at Powerlink Queensland’s Greenbank site will be a vital part of Queensland’s renewable energy revolution, according to CS Energy CEO Andrew Bills.

CS Energy recently took an important step in our diversification into new energy sources with the construction of Queensland’s largest utility-scale battery.

The 400MWh Greenbank battery is part of an innovative partnership between Queensland’s publicly-owned CS Energy and Powerlink.

The new battery follows the announcement of our Chinchilla Battery earlier this year and has the potential to be “a game-changer” in the way the grid is operated, capable of soaking up and storing the state’s solar and wind energy and feed into the system when Queenslanders need it.

Queensland has one of the highest rates of rooftop solar installation in the world and large-scale batteries like Greenbank will allow us to capture this energy and help achieve Queensland’s 50 per cent renewable energy target by 2030.

Investing in fast-start energy storage assets will give our portfolio greater flexibility to respond to changing demand patterns in the National Electricity Market.

Batteries can rapidly respond when there is a sudden gap in electricity supply in the grid, which helps to reduce wholesale price volatility.

Together, CS Energy and our partners aim to deliver more reliable, affordable and cleaner energy for Queensland.  

The Greenbank battery is one of 13 batteries to be rolled out by Queensland Government owned corporations.

 

Hydrogen offers exciting benefits to future energy use for powering heavy transport, as well as its potential to store energy.

Now, thanks to a multi-national research and development partnership, renewable energy from CS Energy’s Kogan Renewable Hydrogen Demonstration Plant in Queensland is set to be used in an innovative pilot to explore the benefits of hydrogen in fuel cells and marine vessels.

Now, thanks to a multi-national research and development partnership, renewable energy from CS Energy’s Kogan Renewable Hydrogen Demonstration Plant in Queensland is set to be used in an innovative pilot to explore the benefits of hydrogen in fuel cells and marine vessels.

The project is being supported by Japan’s Ministry of the Environment and will assess the potential of renewable hydrogen for use in fuel cells and marine vessels in Palau to reduce that country’s reliance on fossil fuels.

Renewable hydrogen for the project will be supplied from CS Energy’s Kogan Renewable Hydrogen Demonstration Plant, which will be built on the Western Downs and produce renewable hydrogen from behind-the-meter solar energy.

CS Energy CEO Andrew Bills said CS Energy was delighted to welcome Sojitz as the first off- taker for the Kogan Renewable Hydrogen Demonstration Plant and was proud to help Palau achieve its carbon reduction ambitions.

Mr Bills said, “We’re excited to collaborate with Sojitz as they seek to find creative solutions to the energy challenges faced by our Pacific near neighbours and which have potential for application to island communities in Queensland.

“The capability building and knowledge sharing opportunities for our people is enormous and we look forward to working with Sojitz and their project partners.

“CS Energy is also well advanced in discussions with potential off-takers for the Kogan project from the heavy transport sector on the Western Downs and we continue to strive to find new opportunities and creative solutions for Queensland’s energy future,” Mr Bills said

The Kogan Renewable Hydrogen Demonstration Plant is a hydrogen production facility that will be built next to CS Energy’s Kogan Creek Power Station.

The project will include the co-location of a solar farm, battery, hydrogen electrolyser, hydrogen fuel cell, storage and out loading facility.

The demonstration plant’s hydrogen electrolyser will only be powered by behind-the-meter solar energy, making it one of the few truly renewable hydrogen projects in Australia.

The aim of the project is to produce renewable hydrogen and provide energy and other grid services while gaining expertise from an operational hydrogen project from production, storage, transport and handling.

Construction is expected to commence in 2022 and commissioning in early 2023.

Learn more here

 

CS Energy’s Acting Executive General Manager Future Energy, Emma Roberts, discusses how evolutions in solar energy innovation is supporting lower power prices for consumers and a more stable power grid throughout the country.

With an abundance of sunshine, it’s no surprise that Australia has been at the forefront of solar energy innovation. In fact, our rate of adoption of rooftop solar technology is among the world’s highest.

But sometimes you can have too much of a good thing. In recent years, excess solar energy in the middle of the day has created challenges for the stability of Australia’s power grid.

Big batteries are seen as an enabling technology because they can store surplus solar energy for use at a later time. Batteries provide a ‘solar soak’ service to smooth out fluctuations in demand by charging during the day and discharging during the evening or when demand is high. This helps to lower power prices for consumers.

Battery energy storage systems work by using chemicals to absorb and release energy on demand. They are fast and flexible – the latest big batteries can turn off and on in fractions of a second.

Batteries’ ability to ramp up and down quickly also means they can provide important grid stabilisation services and reduce the need for new transmission infrastructure.

Battery technology is not new, but its commercial application at a large scale has taken off in Australia in recent years thanks to advances in technology and decreased production costs.

There are currently five grid-scale batteries operating in the National Electricity Market, with many more in the pipeline, including one at Wandoan in Queensland.

CS Energy is considering investing in big batteries to diversify our portfolio, help improve the stability of the power system and create better price outcomes for consumers.

Watch this space!

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Learn more about CS Energy’s renewable energy offerings to customers here or follow CS Energy on LinkedIn