had been expecting<\/a> to retire its coal power generation plants by 2035 under the former state government\u2019s Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan, the collaboration with Quinbrook represents a major new source of \u201caffordable and reliable energy.\u201d<\/p>\nThe Sunshine State\u2019s exit from fossil fuel generation is less clearly mapped out under the current Liberal National Party government\u2019s leadership, which has promised to extend the life of ageing coal while winding back support for renewables, since being elected a year ago.<\/p>\n
Nevertheless, Stanwell is pushing ahead with \u201cnovel configurations\u201d of new and old energy assets to support Queensland\u2019s critical heavy industries through a world without coal.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis agreement provides Stanwell with exclusivity to negotiate commercial arrangements to facilitate the GSDA Energy Hub Project,\u201d Stanwell CEO Michael O\u2019Rourke said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs Queensland\u2019s electricity demand increases, our collaboration with Quinbrook positions Stanwell to deliver to Queenslanders affordable and reliable energy for years to come.\u201d<\/p>\n
Quinbrook CEO, Brian Restall, says the deal shows that Queensland \u201cremains a very attractive place to invest in the energy transition\u201d \u2013\u00a0even accounting for the recent change of government and unravelling of state policy support for renewables.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur ongoing partnership with Stanwell demonstrates our shared commitment to delivering affordable, reliable and sustainable energy for the Sunshine state,\u201d Restall said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur pioneering EnerQB long duration storage solution combined with the ultra-long backup of open cycle gas turbines and then complimented by the grid stability services offered by synchronous condensers, marks another pioneering development by Quinbrook \u2026 a truly innovative contribution directly supporting Queensland\u2019s energy transition and the Queensland government\u2019s energy plan.\u201d<\/p>\n
In October, Quinbrook managing partner, David Scaysbrook, explained at a media briefing that part of the investment giant\u2019s strategy in Australia is to bankroll long-duration \u201cinfrastructure batteries\u201d to help soak up cheap renewables and power big industrial loads.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe type of batteries that Quinbrook does are 15-, 20-year contracted to Origin or \u2026 Stanwell,\u201d Scaysbrook said. \u201cAnd the reason for that is these are incumbents that have a use for the battery that\u2019s matching their entire retail book; that\u2019s providing firming and price support and price protection against uncertain activities in the market. <\/p>\n
\u201cThey\u2019re not just using it, necessarily, for arbitrage, but what they want to do with it is really up to them. Quinnbrook\u2019s role is to own it and operate it and make it sure it\u2019s available for when they need it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Scaysbrook says Quinbrook\u2019s partnership with China battery giant CATL and its considered approach\u00a0to project location has allowed the company to build batteries at a lower cost than some of its competitors.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhen you look at the technology improvement curve of batteries, even over the next two to three years, it\u2019s nothing short of breathtaking,\u201d he said in October.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can take the \u2026cheapest form of electricity in places like Gladstone and Townsville, take the surplus solar, put it into the battery during the day \u2026 and we\u2019ve got eight hours of cheap solar stored in those batteries, and then we can get to 16, 18 hours a day of supply.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd if you\u2019ve got 320 sunny days a year, that is a very, very powerful combination.<\/p>\n
\u201cForget subsidies. I\u2019m not talking about subsidies. I\u2019m talking about Quinbrook, or someone else, building a large-scale solar-battery hybrid with an eight-hour battery in a place like Gladstone and Townsville is delivering incredibly competitive energy cost without government handouts.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
If you would like to join more than 28,000 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, please\u00a0click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.<\/a><\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/sophie-vorrath-e1707967778268.jpg\"\/)
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