Australia accepts 720 MW solar ranch with large battery

• A substantial solar+storage space project near Uralla, New South Wales, has locked in a grid-connection agreement with Transgrid.

Strategies to develop a 720 MW solar ranch combined with as much as 400 MWh of battery storage have passed an essential turning point now that a grid-connection arrangement has been secured with Transgrid, the driver of the electrical energy transmission network in the Australian state of New South Wales.

Project developer UPC/AC Renewables Australia expects style service a transmission substation to start quickly. It prepares to start road upgrades as part of the growth later on this year.

The AU$ 768 million (US$ 528.9 million) New England Solar Farm will be developed across 2 solar fields six kilometers east of Uralla in one of the 3 renewable resource zones proposed by the state government. With greater than 2.4 million solar panels, 150 power conversion systems, and also a lithium-ion battery storage space facility, the project will attach to TransGrid's existing 330 kV transmission line, which transects the advancement site.

Depending on the final installed capability, the solar farm will certainly create around 1,800 GWh of electrical power each year-- enough to power greater than 250,000 houses. The solar project will be created in phases over 36 months. It is anticipated to develop as much as 700 permanent jobs throughout construction.

The project was approved with problems by the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission in March, after greater than two years of in-depth planning, analysis, and neighborhood interaction. Since then, the project designer has continued to work on the required management strategies, project financing and the visit of the main building and construction service provider.

UPC/AC Renewables Australia additionally intends to install a large battery with the ability of sending off energy to the grid sometimes of high power need. Under that proposition, the battery system would certainly be constructed in stages, beginning with 50 MWh, approximately a maximum dimension of 400 MWh.

The developer likewise wishes to sustain local neighborhood projects by giving financing of AU$ 250 for each megawatt (Air Conditioning) of power-generating capability set up at the New England Solar Farm, or AU$ 180,000 a year over the 25-year working life of the solar ranch, assuming full ability.