ACEN files EPBC bid for 440MW battery in Queensland coalfields

• ACEN Australia seeks EPBC approval for the 440-MW/1,760-MWh Lilyvale battery near Emerald, Queensland— a four-hour BESS planned beside the Lilyvale Substation in the state’s coal heartland.

ACEN Australia has lodged an application under Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act to build a 440-MW/1,760-MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) in the Central Highlands of Queensland, advancing a four-hour “big battery” in the heart of coal country. The proposed Lilyvale BESS would sit about 52 km north-east of Emerald, adjacent to Ergon Energy’s Lilyvale Substation, enabling a direct high-voltage grid connection. 

EPBC referral documents outline a project footprint of roughly 151.5 hectares, with the disturbance area limited to about 21.15 hectares. The build-out calls for 512 battery containers, 128 inverters and 128 medium-voltage power stations, plus a new substation and O&M facilities. ACEN proposes lithium-iron-phosphate (LFP) chemistry, targeting around four hours of storage to shift daytime renewables into the evening peak and provide fast-response grid support.

The site is surrounded by legacy and active resources infrastructure, including the Bowen Basin coalfields and multiple mines near Lilyvale—one reason the project has been described as a battery “in coal country.” The referral argues the development avoids higher-value habitat and is “unlikely” to trigger a controlled-action ruling under the EPBC Act; the federal environment department will issue the formal determination after assessing potential impacts on listed species and matters of national environmental significance.

If approved, Lilyvale would add to Queensland’s fast-growing fleet of large batteries that are designed to firm increasing volumes of solar and wind. Recent milestones include the first 270 MW/540 MWh stage of the Western Downs BESS entering operation and deliveries of Megapack XL units for Stanwell’s 1.2 GWh project—both signalling a rapid scale-up of storage across the state.

ACEN Australia has been expanding a pipeline of utility-scale renewables and storage across the National Electricity Market. The Lilyvale filing marks a bid for federal clearance on one of its largest standalone storage projects to date, with design choices tailored to deliver evening peak capacity and system strength services in a region long dominated by thermal generation.