Financing has been secured for the Goonumbla Solar Farm near Parkes.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
When complete the solar farm will supply more than 45,000 Australian homes, while avoiding the emission of 140,000 tons of CO2 per year.
Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV), part of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy and a leading global developer of renewable utility-scale projects, has closed the financing agreement.
Located approximately 10km west of Parkes the plant will be connected to the national grid and produce approximately 195,000 MWh of clean energy per year.
The plant is expected to commence operations in 2020.
FRV foresees the creation of up to 150 jobs during the construction phase, five of which are expected to l remain once operational.
"Goonumbla solar farm confirms FRV's positioning as one of the leaders in the Australian renewable market and our further reinforces FRV long-term commitment to Australia," Carlo Frigerio, Managing Director of FRV in Australia said.
"We are delighted to move forward to the next phase of this project which will create significant benefit to the local economy and support Snowy Hydro in their electricity procurement strategy".
Fady Jameel, Deputy President and Vice Chairman of Abdul Latif Jameel, said "We are proud to be part of Australia's energy transition towards sustainability.
"Undoubtedly, this agreement is another important milestone for FRV. We remain highly committed to the country and we plan to further expand our investment in the country during the coming years, playing a leading role in the development of the renewable energy sector".
Snowy Hydro's CEO, Paul Broad, said "it was great to sign a solar offtake agreement with Goonumbla Solar Farm.
"Snowy Hydro's Renewable Energy Procurement Program was massively oversubscribed.
"More than 17,600 megawatts of projects were submitted through the competitive process and 888 megawatts of contracts were signed.
"Snowy Hydro selected those projects that offered competitive pricing and had credible pathways to commissioning in the next few years and enabled Snowy Hydro to construct an optimal portfolio of renewable offtakes."
Goonumbla is FRV's sixth's project with the company accumulating a total investment of approximately US $700 million since 2012.