Octopus buys Queensland’s largest battery project Blackstone
Octopus Investments Australia, a renewables player backed by superannuation big-wigs Hostplus and Rest Super, has acquired Queensland’s largest proposed battery project, which is expected to have an $800 million enterprise valuation when it is up and running.
Blackstone battery could power 70,000 Brisbane homes for a day, when it’s up and running. Robert Rough
The 1 gigawatt-hour project, dubbed Blackstone, is 30 kilometres from Brisbane and will have the ability to power 70,000 homes for 24 hours. It is still in the development stage, with a final investment decision expected in the second half of 2025.
The seller, Sydney-based Firm Power, has developed battery energy storage systems since 2019. Octopus would cut the equity cheque out of its local flagship fund – known as OASIS, or the Octopus Australia Sustainable Investments platform. Investors in the fund include Hostplus, Rest Super and Clean Energy Finance Corporation.
Octopus and Firm Power were self-advised, but used White & Case and Pinsent Masons, respectively, for legal advice.
As far as batteries go, at 500MW or 1GWh, the Blackstone battery is expected to bigger than the 300MW or 450MWh Victorian Big Battery in Geelong. The latter is Australia’s largest connected battery.
However, it’s a long road ahead to get it up and running. Octopus would spend the next two years thrashing out development with Queensland’s high-voltage electricity transmission infrastructure operator Powerlink, Ipswich City Council and Firm Power. It would also work through power purchase agreements. The battery would eventually connect into the 275KV high-voltage transmission network.
It’s a sizeable addition to Octopus’s Queensland portfolio, which includes wind, solar and storage
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