Equis Secures Approval for Grid-scale Battery Project in Queensland

The Lower Wonga Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), located near Gympie in Queensland, has secured approval from Powerlink and AEMO to be connected to the National Energy Market. The project 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.
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“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,” Mahesh Reddy Indluri, Managing Director at Equis Australia said.
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“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.”
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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.
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“The BESS would be connected to Queensland’s electricity grid via a transmission line that connects to the 275kV Woolooga Substation” Roby Camagong, Investment Director at Equis Australia said.
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“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.
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“Grid-scale battery storage fills this key short-term role,” Camagong said.
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Equis participated in the annual Fraser Coast and Gympie Regional Projects Industry Briefing and is looking forward to partnering with local and regional businesses to deliver the project. Camagong said the BESS project would provide significant local benefits during construction and operation, including investment in the local economy.
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“We will be in a position to start work later this year and be operational by 2026.
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“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” Camagong said.

Reddy said Equis is developing a pipeline of high-quality battery storage and wind generation projects in Queensland, including the recently announced Jackson North Wind Farm in Woleebee, Queensland.
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In November 2023, Equis and the Victorian Government’s SEC financially closed and commenced construction of Phase 1 of the Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub. Once complete, MREH will provide 1.6GWh of energy storage, enough to power up to 200,000 homes during peak periods.

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