Ayala, partner tap Spanish firm to build Australia’s biggest solar farm

The Ayala group and its partners are a step closer to building Australia’s biggest solar-power-cum-battery-storage-facility which, at 720 megawatts, will rise in the New England region of New South Wales.

With the appointment of Elecnor Australia as design, engineering and procurement contractor, the New England solar farm project’s 400-MW initial phase is expected to be completed within two years.

Elecnor

The subsidiary of Spanish engineering firm Elecnor will also be responsible for substation works and operation and maintenance services in the first two years of the New England project’s operations.

UPCAC Renewables Australia—a 50-50 joint venture between AC Energy Inc. and UPC Renewables—in a joint statement said the New England facility was the first in a portfolio of projects in Australia that the partners intended to pursue in the coming years.

“As we adopt new technologies in the construction of Australia’s biggest solar farm, we also aim to play a prominent role in spurring sustainable and inclusive economic growth in New South Wales,” said Patrice Clausse, chief operating officer of AC Energy International.

Energy shift

Anton Rohner, chief executive of UPCAC Renewables, said the project not only supported Australia’s energy shift from fossil fuels, it was also providing dispatchable electricity—or supply that can be used on demand—in the form of a 50-megawatt-hour battery.

“We expect to start on-site construction of the first stage of the solar farm in 2021,” Rohner said.

Once built fully, the project is expected to produce 1.8 million MWh of electricity each year, enough to power more than 250,000 typical homes in New South Wales.