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New South Wales Solar Farms

Yarrabee Solar Project | NSW’s Biggest Solar Farm

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The $1b, 900MW Yarrabee Solar Project has been greenlit and will be New South Wales’ largest solar farm. It will be built by Reach Solar Energy in stages, starting this year. 

Yarrabee Solar Project | 900W | $1b

Yarrabee Solar Project Location
Yarrabee Solar Project Location (source: yarrabeesolar.com)

The Yarrabee Solar Farm project location has been classed as “moderate agricultural capability” (i.e. not ‘prime agricultural) and as such has had a lot less troubles getting approved. It’ll be built in stages, according to the Sydney Morning Herald, and, although the final cost is slated to be somewhere around $1b, the first stage will represent 300MW with a 35MW/70MWh solar battery (as per the application on the NSW Planning and Environment website). The official website notes an ‘Energy Storage System’ so we’re not 100% sure what is going to end up happening with large scale energy storage on the site, but there’s definitely potential at Yarrabee for it! 

According to the official website, construction of the farm will result in a lot of solar jobs for the region – with 150-200 workers onsite each day, and up to 450 in peak activities. After the project is complete, 15-25 full time jobs will be created. It’s expected to power the equivalent of 315,000 homes when completed. 

The farm will be built by Reach Solar Energy who are also responsible for the 275MW Bungala Solar Farm which will be commencing stage 3 of its construction this year, so they have a pedigree with regards to successfully delivering large-scale solar farms in Australia. Construction is expected to take two years for phase 1 (300MW) and will be connected to the adjacent transmission network (Wagga 330kV to Darlington Point transmission line). 

The address of the solar project is: 2354 Back Morundah Road, Morundah.

For further information about the project approval, please contact the planner, Diana Mitchell via email at [email protected].

Reach have also created a video about the solar farm which you can view below!

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Parkesbourne solar and storage project unveiled.

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Australian renewable energy developer CWP Renewables is planning to build a 600MW Parkesbourne solar and storage project within Goulburn in New South Wales. The gigantic project will cover around 2,000 hectares in in the Greater Hume Shire.

Parkesbourne solar and storage – more info.

Parkesbourne Solar Project`
Parkesbourne Solar Project (source: cwprenewables.com)

There are two separate Parkesbourne solar projects being touted by CWP – the first is a 600MW solar and storage project in the New South Wales Goulburn Mulwaree Council area. The second plan is for a 200MW Glenellen solar and storage park. According to Renewables Now, this will be installed on already cleared land situated north-east of Jundera, within the Greater Hume Shire. 

Project manager Matthew Flower discussed what will happen on in the future if this project goes ahead:

“We are looking at producing up to 600MW power with this and right now there are no other 600MW solar farms in Australia,” Mr Flower said. 

“The largest at the moment would be about 150MW.

“That is not to say it will be the largest by the time of possible approval because this area is expanding so rapidly, but it is certainly a major project.

“The attraction of the area is proximity to the electricity grid and relatively flat land.”

Mr Flower went on to explain why they chose the specific location and why they will use solar power instead of wind:

“Wind can vary a lot, but not sun,” Mr Flower said.

“It would not matter if it was further west, because of the angle of the sun. Latitude is the main thing.

“Our application comes off the back of early engagement with potential hosts, neighbouring landowners and the wider community. 

“These discussions have shaped the project, which will continue as we work through the permitting process,” Mr Flower said. 

The project is expected to create 300 solar jobs during construction and 25 more ongoing operational positions. The $600m farm could even be the largest of its type in all of Australia.

We’ll keep you updated as more information about the project becomes available! An Environmental Impact Statement will be released to the public sometime in 2018. 

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Beryl Solar Farm Sold To New Energy Solar

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We’ve written about the Beryl Solar Farm reaching a financial close back in May – now the 87MW (108MW according to the AFR) project has a new owner and is continuing construction. 

Beryl Solar Farm Sold To New Energy Solar

Beryl Solar Farm Sold to New Energy Solar
Beryl Solar Farm Sold to New Energy Solar (source: FirstSolar.com.au)

According to PV Magazine, the farm has been purchased by New Energy Solar – who also bought the 50MW Manildra Solar Farm for $113m last month. Both farms were previously owned by First Solar and the Beryl farm will be using their 420W large-format Series 6 thin film PV modules. Beryl also comes with a 15 year PPA with Transport for NSW – who will purchase 134,000 MWh from Beryl Solar Farm each year – using the power for the Sydney Metro Northwest railway. This long PPA with a AAA rated customer (i.e. the government) makes the farm a great buy in its current shape.

The EPC project was estimated at $150m according to Reuters, but it’s now estimated at $187m. Downer Utilities started work on the project in May and hope to have it finished in mid 2019. The farm will produce enough energy to power 25,000 households and doesn’t require any water for its electricity generation.

New Energy Solar said the cost of the farm won’t be announced but it was pegged to a target for five-year annual average gross yield of 8.2%, in comparison with yield on its existing portfolio of about 6.8% p.a, so by those metrics it looks like a canny purchase. 

New Energy Solar’s CEO, John Martin, discussed how the extra-long 15 year PPA helped get the sale of this project over the line:

“Beryl, New’s second investment in Australia, will further enhance the scale and contracted cashflows of our Australian portfolio,” said Martin. “Following the Manildra acquisition last month, we are delighted to be consolidating our relationship with First Solar through this second sizeable transaction in the Australian market.”

Martin continued to say that ~69% of the energy provided by the Beryl project will go to Transport for NSW – with the rest slated to package up with a 20MWh battery and sold to a corporate customer as commercial solar. 

To learn more about the project from the First Solar website please click here. 

If you’re interested in solar employment and working at the Beryl Solar Farm, please click here to visit the Downer Group’s careers website.

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Alexandra Canal transport depot solar+storage

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The Alexandra Canal transport depot was officially opened by Sydney Lord mayor Clover Moore on Wednesday. It’s powered by 1,600 PV solar panels and also includes a Tesla Powerwall/Powerpack battery which has 500 kWh of energy. It represents the first time solar has been combined with large-scale energy storage in NSW – just like Tesla’s South Australia battery venture earlier this year. 

Alexandra Canal transport depot solar

Alexandra Canal transport depot solar
Alexandra Canal transport depot solar (source: SMH.com.au / Supplied)

The Alexandra Canal transport depot will have the first government-installed Tesla battery for NSW – following suit from Victoria and South Australia who have already got similar setups. Lord mayor Moore took a look at the facility this week and had some high praise and explanation for the government’s future renewable plans:

“Growing the uptake of renewable energy is critical in combating the worst impacts of climate change,” Ms Moore said, adding:

“We’re working towards a target of 50 per cent of all electricity in the City of Sydney area to come from renewables by 2030.

“To help us achieve that target we’re covering the roofs of our properties with as many solar panels as possible. By mid-2021, we expect to have more than 7800 solar panels on the roofs of our properties. As the mix of storage and generation on our electricity grid changes, solar solutions like this could provide reliability and resilience to our electricity network and potentially prevent blackouts,”

The Tesla Powerpack batteries will be remotely managed by TransGrid and will be the first cab off the rank for a plan which will see Sydney install 1.5MW of battery storage on top of council buildings – with the goal of making their city 50% renewable in the short term. 

TransGrid boss Paul Italiano discussed the project with the Sydney Morning Herald:

“This initiative with the City of Sydney will afford the depot a significant amount of energy self-sufficiency while also sharing benefits with the wider community through the electricity network,” Mr Italiano said.

“By partnering with a site where this service is needed, we can support the City of Sydney’s renewable energy goals and reduce the cost of the council’s depot.”

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Metz Solar Farm sold to Clenergy

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New South Wales based 120MW PV solar farm Metz Solar Farm, previously owned by a consortium of buyers, has been sold by Pinsent Masons to Clenergy, a major renewable company from China.

Metz Solar Farm

Metz Solar Farm
Metz Solar Farm (source: metzsolarfarm.com.au)

The consortium, which included Infinergey and other unnamed investors (we wrote about the Metz farm in August last year), used Pinsent Masons to advise all aspects of the sale, which was the group’s first major project in Australia. Financial specifics are confidential – we reported last year the farm was bought for around $130m so it’d be interesting to see what it was worth to a buyer right now – unfortunately we’ll probably never know. Keep in mind it hasn’t even started construction yet – that will be around Spring of this year – the solar farm is expected to reach completion early 2019. 

The Armidale-based farm was 100MW when we looked at it last year, but with the application of Clenergy’s push-pull centralized single-axis tracking architecture, it’s now able to generate 120MW. 

Infinergy, who are more known for wind power according to PV Magazine, have put themselves “on the map” with this project – they are now looking to get development and grid connection approvals for 300MW by the end of the year, with a focus on utility scale solar in NSW and Victoria. 

Pinsent Masons partner Ewan Robertson, who, along with associate Lucy Carter, advised on the sale of the project, was bullish about the state of large-scale renewables in Australia: 

“The sale of the Metz solar farm is significant as it not only marks the sellers’ first project sale in the Australian market, it also represents the buyers’ first acquisition in Australia. Further, the speed at which the sale was initiated and completed is a ringing endorsement of the current appetite for renewable energy in Australia,” Robertson said.

“We are delighted to have achieved the successful development and the subsequent sale of Metz Solar Farm, all within a timeframe of 18 months,” said Infinergy CEO Esbjorn Wilmar in a statement.

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