Quinbrook Energises 260-MW Supernode Battery Stage One Connection In Queensland

• Quinbrook has connected Stage 1 of its Supernode battery—260 MW—to Queensland’s transmission grid, completing construction and adding flexible evening capacity.

Quinbrook Infrastructure Partners has connected the initial 260-MW stage of its Supernode battery to Queensland’s transmission network, marking completion of construction and the start of commissioning activities that bring fast, flexible capacity to one of Australia’s most solar-rich states. The multi-stage project is designed as a grid-scale cornerstone: soaking up midday surpluses and redeploying power into the evening, while providing rapid frequency and voltage support in seconds.

Stage 1 follows a proven design: containerised lithium-ion blocks with sectionalised fire-safety systems, grid-forming inverters capable of synthetic inertia, and SCADA tuned to respond to operator signals under the National Electricity Market’s evolving performance standards. Co-location potential with future generation, or at minimum tight coupling to existing substations, keeps losses low and accelerates energisation compared with greenfield tie-ins.

Why it matters: Queensland’s midday net-load troughs are deepening as rooftop and utility PV expand, and the evening ramp grows steeper with electrification. Multi-hour storage shifts energy across those hours, reduces curtailment on bright days and dampens price spikes after sunset. For market participants, a large, responsive battery also opens stacked revenues across energy arbitrage, capacity and ancillary services—diversifying cash flows as price signals evolve.

Construction brought familiar local commitments—traffic management, noise abatement and biodiversity measures—alongside jobs and supplier contracts. With the grid connection live, the project enters a phased testing regimen: verifying control modes, demonstrating ride-through and system-strength contributions, and stepping into market operations. Data from those trials will shape Stage 2’s sizing and controls, informing an eventual build-out that could multiply the site’s contribution to evening reliability.

Strategically, Supernode demonstrates how storage moves from add-on to backbone. It makes better use of every installed megawatt of solar, offers operators a precision tool for stability and creates a template for investors seeking repeatable, grid-forming assets. Stage 1’s connection is the tangible first step—flexibility, not just capacity, arriving where Queensland needs it most.