Tesla Megapack 2XL units have arrived at the state-owned energy utility Stanwell’s 300MW/1,200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) at the Stanwell Power Station in Queensland, Australia.
324 Megapack units will be delivered over the next several months to finish the 4-hour duration battery system that is being built next to Stanwell’s coal-fired power plant.
The BESS is a key component of the Queensland government’s plan to convert the property, which is around 22 kilometers from Rockhampton, to sustainable energy sources. Yurika, another Queensland government-owned business, will install the Megapacks as part of Stanwell’s ambitions to convert the power plant into the Stanwell Clean Energy Hub.
Lithium-ion batteries, a power conversion system (PCS), thermal management, and controls are all part of Tesla’s Megapack, an integrated solution. Due to the growing demand for the technology throughout the world, Tesla’s Megapack plant in Lathrop, California, expanded its production capacity to 40GWh per year by the end of 2024. The company’s Megapack “Megafactory” in China, which is of the same scale, just went online.
Due to the Megapack solution’s success in Australia, Tesla and the Western Australian government signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) earlier this year for a Collie battery remanufacturing plant.
By 2026, the service center should be up and running, initially servicing a variety of battery products throughout Western Australia and the larger Asia-Pacific area.
Prior to a complete results announcement on July 23, Tesla said earlier this month that it deployed 9.6GWh of energy storage globally in the second quarter of this year across its home Powerwall and utility-scale Megapack lines.
Stanwell BESS: timeline and investment
Stanwell anticipates that all Tesla Megapack XL units will be in place and stored in a safe “shipping mode” by September. Commissioning is expected to follow in November 2025.
Bulk earthworks for the site began in August 2024, and the project is estimated to cost AU$747 million (US$482 million). The Stanwell BESS is scheduled to supply electricity to the grid and the National Electricity Market (NEM) by May 2027.
Angie Zahra, Stanwell Central Generation’s general manager, emphasised the importance of the BESS in the company’s diversification strategy.
“Capable of discharging 300MW of energy for up to four hours (1200MWh), our mega battery will be one of the largest in Queensland. It is just one part of the 800MW of battery energy storage capacity we have in our pipeline,” Zahra stated.
In addition to the Stanwell BESS, the company is developing the 300MW/600MWh Tarong BESS in Queensland, which will be part of the Tarong Clean Energy Hub.
Construction of the standalone battery storage asset at the Tarong Power Station site began in August 2023, with plans to be fully operational by mid-2025.
Like the Stanwell BESS, the Tarong project will utilise Tesla Megapack 2XL battery units, with 164 units planned for installation.
Stanwell’s collaboration with Quinbrook for the Supernode BESS
Earlier this year, Stanwell secured an additional 250MW/1,010MWh of BESS capacity through an offtake agreement with global investment manager Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners for the Supernode BESS.
This agreement confirmed the third stage of the Supernode BESS, located at the “strategic” South Pine site. With this deal, the Supernode BESS expanded to 750MW/2,540MWh, making it one of the largest battery systems in the NEM.
The agreement with Stanwell is contingent on Quinbrook meeting specific conditions, including achieving financial close for the project by 30 September 2025.
