After a long wait, RES, a U.K. renewable energy developer, has finally been approved to build a 200 MW PV power station and a 10 MW/10 MWh energy storage battery system in New South Wales of Australia.
The state government of New South Wales issued a green light to the project, dubbed Avonlie, due to its economic benefits; the project will entail an investment of 250 million Australian dollars (US$170 million) and create 200 job openings in the country. RES has waited for over one and a half years for the approval, following the submission of its application and environmental impact statement in late 2017. Up to 670,000 solar panels will be installed on an extensive plot of land, spanning 802 hectares in space, whose output will be transmitted to the national grid, via two transmission lines in the region. RES will reportedly provide 250,000 Australian dollars (US$170,000) of giveback to the country’s local communal groups and institutions.
The construction period for the project is currently estimated to last 18 months and the facility will be in operation for 30 years after inauguration. RES will be partnering with Spain’s Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy to work on the construction of the project.
RES already has two PV power stations in New South Wales: the 100 MW Tarleigh Park and Curra Warra; the latter of the two will have a capacity of around 429 MW, following the completion of the second-stage construction.
New South Wales is currently home to PV power stations with the largest aggregate capacity in Australia and boasts 1.76 GW for wind power and PV power capacities in combination. This is the country’s second largest amount, next to the 1.83 GW of capacity in South Australia.
Moycop, a mining equipment manufacturer, has planned to build a 120 MW PV power station, dubbed Bomen, in New South Wales, for which it has recently signed a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
Source: www.escn.com.cn