A landmark energy deal finalized in Australia paves the way for construction to begin on the country’s largest solar farm. Once completed, the Western Downs Green Power Hub will likely help power large commercial and industrial customers.
Australian government-owned electricity generation and trading company CleanCo Queensland signed a power purchase agreement this week with renewable energy provider Neoen for 352 megawatts peak (MWp) from Western Downs.
The solar farm near Chinchilla in southeast Queensland is slated to total between 460 and 480 MWp. Neoen says it has invested $364.8 million in the project. Construction should begin in July. Energy generation from Western Downs is expected to start in the first quarter of 2022, according to Neoen.
CleanCo was established in late 2018 to help improve electricity affordability and support Queensland’s goal of achieving 50% renewable energy by 2030. By 2025, CleanCo aims to support 1 gigawatt of new renewable generation. The new PPA with Neoen contributes more than 30% of the energy required to meet that 2025 target.
In March, CleanCo received regulatory approval to begin providing retail electricity services to large commercial and industrial customers that have consumption greater than 100 MWh per year, the Australian site Renew Economy reported.
“In receiving approval to sell electricity directly to large users, the publicly-owned CleanCo expects to help increase competition within the Queensland electricity market and that the move will help to accelerate the development of additional renewable energy supplies in the state,” according to the outlet.
Although CleanCo’s initial plan is to focus on services for C&I customers in Queensland, Renew Economy noted that the company might consider supplying customers in other National Electricity Market states such as New South Wales, South Australia, and Tasmania.
