The Bowen Renewable Energy Hub (Bowen Hub) is working with Copenhagen Infrastructure IV to advance its 1.4GW integrated renewable and energy storage project that will provide energy security for Central and North Queensland.
The Bowen Hub is being developed by Bowen River Utilities and Renewable Energy Partners, and will be located in the Mackay Hinterland, on Widi Country.
Copenhagen Infrastructure IV, a fund managed by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners – one of the world’s largest clean energy investors – has identified The Bowen Hub’s pumped hydro energy storage (PHES) component as one of the most promising investments of its type in Queensland and is working closely with Bowen River Utilities and Renewable Energy Partners on co-development and equity partnerships.
The Bowen Renewable Energy Hub located in North Queensland between Mackay and Collinsville, in Queensland’s Northern REZ and AEMO’s Isaac REZ (Q4), includes:
- 2 x Pumped Hydroelectric Energy Storage (PHES) projects generating a total of 1.4+GW and storing over 24,000MWh of energy
- 500MW+ Eungella Wind Farm
- 1300MW+ Turrawulla Solar Farm
- 50MW/200MWh Battery Energy Storage System
- 200MW PEM Electrolyser to create ‘green’ hydrogen for export
- Common-use transmission and energy management infrastructure connecting the Bowen Renewable Energy Hub to the National Electricity Market
This nation-building project will integrate wind and solar generation with PHES, batteries, and hydrogen production. The project will deliver dispatchable green energy to around 500,000 Queensland homes.
The Bowen Hub will be operating by 2028 and will bring sustainable industry and employment to the region. The project is expected to provide 1200 jobs during construction, and 250 ongoing skilled jobs.
The project also has a Memorandum of Understanding with Queensland Government-owned CS Energy who are considering a range of options for participating in the PHES component of the Bowen Hub, such as a power purchase agreement, equity funding and project operations.
Stage One of the PHES is expected to be online by 2028. It has been designed to deliver 750MW and 16 hours of storage (12,000MWh), which is over 1.5 times the size of Queensland’s only operating PHES at Wivenhoe Dam. Stage Two is expected to deliver an additional 12,000MWh of storage and be online by 2033.
The PHES will provide essential energy storage and grid stability services in the transition to net-zero by 2050 and contribute significantly to the Queensland Government’s 50 per cent renewable energy target for 2030.
A visualisation of the project is available here: https://vimeo.com/500402729.
The project and its configuration are subject to Commonwealth and State Government approval processes.
