Quinbrook To Build Polysilicon Plant in Australia For A$7.8bn

Australian energy investor Quinbrook's plans to invest billions of dollars in a polysilicon production plant in the country have received a major boost, with the Queensland state government clearing the way for the project to move forward quickly, according to foreign media reports.

Quinbrook is moving ahead with plans to build a polysilicon manufacturing plant near Townsville, Australia, and the Queensland government has accelerated the approval process for it.

Queensland Department of Development and Infrastructure Grace Grace made the announcement recently and said it would open the way for the state's Office of the General Coordinator to work with local government and regulators to ensure timely decision-making on development approvals for the project.

Grace said Quinbrook plans to invest A$7.8bn (US$5.08bn) in the development of the Green Poly project, which will create Australia's first integrated supply chain from polysilicon production to photovoltaic manufacturing.

Polysilicon wafers are an essential component of photovoltaic modules and this project is planned to make Townsville one of the global centers of the wafer supply chain," Grace said. quartz mined by Quinbrook from north Queensland will be processed into polysilicon wafers that will be supplied to local and global photovoltaic module manufacturers. green poly will create a complete polysilicon wafer supply chain in Queensland to build a complete polysilicon supply chain."

Quinbrook unveiled plans late last year to build a polysilicon manufacturing plant to be constructed in the Lansdown eco-industrial estate, 40 kilometers south of Townsville, on 200 hectares of land that the company has already procured. The plant will source quartz from north Queensland and process it into polysilicon wafers for photovoltaic cells and photovoltaic modules.

The polysilicon production plant is being powered by a large PV + energy storage storage project that Quinbrook plans to build near Lansdown.

Grace said it expects to create around 4,400 jobs in and around Townsville during the construction and operation of the plant.

Cranbrook senior director Brian Restall said the Green Poly project would create one of Australia's first integrated mine-to-manufacturing polysilicon supply chains.

He said:- "Townsville has the potential to become a world-leading polysilicon manufacturing site due to the proximity of high-quality quartz mines, the proximity to the Port of Townsville, and the ability to use entirely renewable power for our proposed Lansdown Eco-Industrial Park."

Meanwhile, the Queensland Government has declared mineral developer Harmony Gold's Eva copper project near Mount Isa a prescribed project.

Harmony Gold said copper mined and processed at the Eva Copper Project would be used in the manufacture of photovoltaic modules, wind power facilities, and batteries.

Grace said Harmony Gold had obtained key mining approvals for the project and the prescribed project declaration meant the Office of the General Coordinator could now provide additional assistance.

She said, "Our priorities include the establishment of a renewable energy generation facility to provide clean energy for the mine."