A 100 megawatt battery will be built near Wandoan, marking the first stage of a major renewable energy project.
It will be Queensland's biggest battery, with the project creating 30 jobs over its estimated 12-month construction period.
The $120 million project will have an initial capacity of 100 megawatts (MW) and store 150 megawatt hours of energy, which could power up to 57,000 average homes annually.
Energy minister Anthony Lynham joined AGL Energy and Vena Energy Australia today in Brisbane to announce the companies' deal to build the battery.
"Queensland's renewable energy revolution is steaming ahead and the next wave is battery storage," Dr Lynham said.
"The climate-change deniers criticise renewable energy for not being available when the sun doesn't shine and wind doesn't blow: batteries are a game-changer.
"This is the same size as the largest battery in the nation... this is huge for the nation and huge for Queensland."
Vena Energy CEO Nitin Apte said the battery build would begin in July and they would be using local resources where possible.
"The battery energy storage system is the first major milestone in our $650 million Wandoan South Project, which has the potential to supply up to 400,000 Queensland households with solar energy," he said.
The 1000 megawatts Wandoan South Solar Project will be connected to Powerlink's Wandoan South Substation. Once the battery is built, Vena Energy plans to begin work on the solar farm at the same site in 2021.
It's expected up to 10 long-term jobs could be associated with the project.
The lithium ion battery will be one of the biggest in Australia and will be able to take and deliver 100 megawatts of energy into and out of the National Energy Market.
AGL CEO Brett Redman said the battery energy storage system would complement the company's renewable projects.
"This battery will support our massive Coopers Gap Wind Farm, which will be producing up to 453 megawatts of energy when all 123 wind turbines are up and running," he said.
"AGL will also be able to leverage excess solar generation in Queensland and provide capacity when the Coopers Gap Wind Farm and other renewable power sources are not generating."
Dr Lynham said Queensland already had three large-scale batteries operating at Lakeland Solar Farm in Far North Queensland, at Kennedy Energy Park near Hughenden and at the University of Queensland in Brisbane. Another in Townsville is expected to be operating next month.
"Queensland has seen $4.7 billion worth of investment in renewable energy projects since December 2016, creating 4200 jobs," he said.
"Queensland now has almost 5500 megawatts of renewable generation capacity.
"Batteries are next, and all of this investment demonstrates industry's strong confidence in Queensland's growing clean energy industry."
"It's all ensuring that we remain well on track to reach our target of 50 per cent renewable energy by 2030."
AGL and Vena Energy Australia have signed a 15-year agreement to deliver and operate the battery.
