Two big solar farms captured in grid congestion pulled from sale

• 2 of the big solar farms caught up in newly verified congestion problems in the New South Wales grid-- exposed by RenewEconomy on Monday-- have been drawn from sale.

Resources have actually verified to RenewEconomy that UK framework capitalist John Laing has actually taken out the majority-owned Sunraysia solar farm and the wholly possessed Finley solar farm (envisioned over)-- both located west of Wagga Wagga-- no more form part of the package of Australian possessions that it has put up for sale.

John Laing started the sales procedure previously this year, as it introduced the stop of all new investment in wind and also solar possessions in Australia because of growing frustrations over project hold-ups and also transmission losses, and a major write-off of some of its investments in Australia. It claimed as the Australian market was just "too tough."

The 200MW Sunraysia solar farm has been left standing, unused for more than a year as a result of its failing to obtain enrollment by the Australian Energy Market Operator. It is uncertain what the problem is, but the concern has sparked a bitter legal fight in between the project owners (John Laing 90 percent and also Maoneng 10 per cent) and also the primary specialist Decmil.

RenewEconomy understands that the unpredictability over the Sunraysia connection-- registration might not take place till later this year, and also AGL says its off take will certainly not commence until 2023-- resulted in the choice to leave out if from the sales procedure, and also it made sense to do the very same with the 137MW Finley solar farm, provided the functional and also due persistance harmonies between the two solar projects for subsequent sale under a solitary deal

Finley, nonetheless, has likewise been caught up in grid blockage issues, regardless of the cost of installing a concurrent condenser, and also both the Finley and Sunraysia solar farms are consisted of in a group of wind and solar facilities that have actually been warned of "product" constraints on their result due to blockage because part of the grid.

The decision to exclude the solar farms from the already postponed sales process leaves John Laing's wind properties as the only ones on offer. These consist of the Granville as well as Kiata wind farms, along with tiny stakes in each of the three stages of the Hornsdale wind farm in South Australia.

Both Decmil and John Laing are anticipated to give updates to the lawful battle as well as claims and also counter-claims over the Sunraysia troubles when they launch their particular six month causes the coming weeks. The brawl has actually triggered Decmil to comply with various other big contracting companies and also take out from full EPC contracting and emphasis only on less risky balance of plant contracts for wind as well as solar farms.

As RenewEconomy reported earlier this week, virtually a dozen mainly solar jobs improved the grid west of Wagga face material restrictions due to new modelling from Transgrid that shows the possible loss of voltage control stood among the primary transmission lines goes down.

Transgrid is seeking regulative approval to update that part of the network, yet that will not happen for four to five years, and in the meantime a restriction of 300MW of power streaming east (back in the direction of Wagga Wagga) from the solar jobs has actually been imposed.

The flow east currently comes to a head at 200MW yet there is more than 740MW of new capacity about to sign up with the grid in coming months, and an additional 400MW in the pipe.

The issue may be a little relieved by a new proposal to develop the world's largest pressed air energy storage space center at Broken Hill, aiding to develop one of the globe's biggest renewable resource micro-grids together with the existing Silverton wind farm (200MW) and the Broken Hill solar farm (50MW).

That center-- potentially sized at approximately 200MW with 1550MWh of storage space-- would soak up a lot of the excess wind as well as solar streaming from Broken Hill, but also this, if it does go ahead, will not be total prior to late 2023.

It is not clear which solar farms would certainly be affected most by these congestions problems. Andrew Kingsmill, the head of at Transgrid, informed RenewEconomy after a webinar revealing the firm's transmission plans, and the Broken Hill micro-grid that it was difficult to anticipate ahead of time.

This would certainly be driven by the National Electricity Market's dispatch engine, and depend upon various factors, including rates, place, marginal loss factors (transmission losses), various other restraints in the network and also electrical energy moves in other places in the network.

As RenewEconomy kept in mind earlier today, one choice might be to include battery storage to a solar center. But unless this is "behind the metre", the benefits of the battery will certainly be shown all, under the policies of the marketplace. If it is located behind the metre, after that the solar farm's GPS (performance requirements) will certainly need to be re-negotiated, and that's a prospective migraine and also danger that few would certainly amuse.

The blockage concerns as well as the constraint warnings came although that several of the project proprietors, including Octopus Investments, which has a share in the Darlington solar farm, had actually possessed siting their 275MW center-- likely the largest in the country when registration is completed in coming weeks-- was in the "perfect position at the heart of NSW as well as Victoria's power grid."

"Darlington Point has been stratically situated," the video clip claims, noting its possible to utilize the existing high capacity transmission line networks, its place alongside a major sub-station that feeds straight to the neighbouring 330kV network, making it the only solar farm to be located beside such a high capacity line. And in addition to that, it has installed 2 synchronous condensers to aid stabilise the grid.

All of that holds true, however it still not yet clear just how that will certainly put the solar farm in the congestion issues foreshadowed by Transgrid, although it does appears feasible that a person of those syncons could have been chosen by AEMO to assist resolve separate "system toughness" problems because part of the grid, so that could give it extra profits.

Various other possible prospects for that contract consist of the syncons at Finley Point, and also at the Kiamal solar farm in Victoria, however AEMO is yet to confirm these agreements, despite the fact that it flagged at a recent webinar on the West Murray connection problems that the instant system stamina issues had been mainly solved.