Queensland Supergrid North is a proposed 750-kilometre, 500 kV connection from Gladstone in Central Queensland Gladstone to Townsville in North Queensland. It would connect the proposed Pioneer-Burdekin Pumped Hydro Enery Storage (PHES) project to both Central and North Queensland and may have future connection capacity to the Barcaldine and Isaac REZs.
The project is also known as Stage Three of the Queensland Supergrid Infrastrucutre Blueprint - Pioneer Burdekin PHES to NQ Connection Project.
The Queensland Supergrid Infrastructure Blueprint proposes that the North section will be undertaken in three tranches:
- Stage 3A: Larcom to Nebo
- Stage 3B: Nebo to Pioneer, and
- Stage 3C: Pioneer to Townsville.
The connection to the pumped hydro site will run from the proposed upper reservoir (north of the main area of Eungella) and travel west.
Construction timing will be considered in the context of Queensland Government decisions relating to the Pioneer-Burdekin PHES project.
Key Dates
| Jun 2033 | Expected Construction Completion |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Sep 2022 | Queensland Government releases Queensland Supergrid Infrastructure Blueprint with initial estimated cost for the Pioneer-Burdekin PHES to NQ Connection at $3.4 billion, to be constructed in stages from 2027 to 2031. |
| Dec 2023 | AEMO's Draft ISP 2024 updates the estimated cost of the Supergrid North to be $4.184 billion, with a margin of error of 50 per cent. The report indicates the project will be delivered by FY2032-33 at the earliest. |
