Solar developer Lightsource bp has started construction on its Lower Wonga hybrid renewable energy project in Queensland, Australia, combining a 380MWdc solar PV plant with a 281MW/843MWh battery energy storage system (BESS).
Located near Gympie in southeast Queensland, the facility is expected to begin commercial operations in late 2028. According to the company, the project is one of the largest co-located solar-plus-storage developments currently under construction in Australia.
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Once commissioned, the project will provide both renewable electricity generation and dispatchable energy storage capacity to the National Electricity Market (NEM), supporting grid reliability.
Engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) work for the project for the project will be handled under a joint venture between engineering contractor INTEC Energy Solutions and battery manufacturer Gotion Hi-Tech Australia.
The project is expected to support between 400 and 500 jobs locally.
Adam Pegg, chief operating officer for Asia-Pacific at Lightsource bp, said: “Solar provides the lowest-cost scalable electricity, while battery storage allows that energy to be shifted to periods of higher demand, strengthening flexibility and reliability across the grid. Combining solar generation with storage strengthens the energy security value of renewable energy, enabling customers to benefit from long‑term, predictable energy costs over the life of the project.”
“Australia is one of the most attractive renewable energy markets in the world, and developments like Lower Wonga demonstrate how solar and storage together can deliver reliable, low‑cost power at scale.”
The start of construction makes this the the second solar-plus-storage hybrid project to enter the construction phase in Australia for Lightsource, alongside the 450MW Goulburn River Solar Farm in New South Wales.
In other news, Lightsource signed a hybrid offtake agreement with London-headquartered mining major Rio Tinto. The agreement combines solar generation and battery storage capacity from the Lower Wonga project to supply renewable electricity to support Rio Tinto’s operations in Queensland.
The Lower Wonga project has also secured support through the Australian government’s Capacity Investment Scheme (CIS), which aims to accelerate the deployment of new renewable generation and storage assets by providing long-term revenue certainty for developers.
The project forms part of Lightsource bp’s wider development pipeline in the Asia-Pacific region. According to the company, it currently has more than 9.5GW of solar, wind and energy storage projects under development across the region.
In February 2026, Lightsource sold a 1GW operational solar PV portfolio in Australia to Australian-headquartered renewable energy company Aula Energy.
The portfolio comprised of five projects including the neighbouring Wellington and Wellington North projects in New South Wales, the West Wyalong facility elsewhere in New South Wales, the Woolooga plant in Queensland and the Wunghnu project in Victoria. The portfolio has a total capacity of 1,037MW.
