Octopus reaches close on $588m NSW solar-plus-storage Blind Creek project

• Octopus Australia achieved financial close on the Blind Creek solar-plus-storage project in New South Wales, a roughly AUD 900m scheme adding flexible clean capacity.

Octopus Australia has reached financial close on the Blind Creek solar-plus-storage project in New South Wales, a roughly AUD 900 million undertaking (about USD 588 million) that pairs utility-scale PV with a multi-hour battery to deliver clean power when it’s most needed. The deal moves the project from paper to procurement and mobilization in a National Electricity Market (NEM) grappling with steep evening ramps and rising electrification.

The design reflects a mature hybrid blueprint. High-efficiency modules—many bifacial—on single-axis trackers feed inverters sized for annual yield, while a co-located battery with two to four hours of duration absorbs midday surpluses and discharges through the dusk peak. Grid-forming inverters provide synthetic inertia, frequency-watt response, and voltage control; a supervisory energy management system co-optimizes energy arbitrage with contingency FCAS, preserving state of charge for high-value events.

Financial close unlocks early reservations for long-lead electrical gear—power transformers, MV switchgear, protection systems—that often set the critical path. Standardized EPC playbooks and pre-fabricated substation blocks compress construction timelines. Staged energization can bring portions online sooner, creating cash flow while remaining sections complete.

Siting at a strong node maximizes locational value and reduces curtailment risk. While contracted offtake details weren’t disclosed, hybrids typically blend PPAs with calibrated merchant exposure to capture spread between daytime lows and evening peaks, while batteries monetize ancillary markets that reward rapid response.

Community and environmental safeguards are table stakes: traffic and noise controls, glare assessments, drainage for cloudbursts, biodiversity-friendly groundcover, and end-of-life plans with recycling pathways for modules and battery components. Post-COD, disciplined O&M—thermal inspections, cell balancing, firmware management—underpins availability and safety across the asset life.

For the NEM, Blind Creek is about shape as much as scale: turning plentiful midday megawatt-hours into dependable evening megawatts that displace peakers, dampen volatility, and integrate more renewables. For Octopus, it’s a flagship that demonstrates the firm’s ability to finance and deliver complex, grid-supportive assets at utility scale.