CIMIC Group companies Pacific Partnerships and UGL have reached full power and completed testing for final Hold Point just 12 months from Financial Close for the 130MWdc solar farm at Glenrowan in Victoria.
This milestone was achieved just three months after first energisation of Glenrowan Solar Farm, when it began initial supply of renewable electricity to the national network.
Leading greenfield infrastructure developer Pacific Partnerships owns the solar farm, and industrial services company UGL delivered and will operate and maintain it.
Glenrowan Solar Farm has received conditional approval from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) to operate at full power, and is the first of six projects selected for the current Victorian Renewable Energy Target (VRET) Auction Scheme to achieve this milestone.
CIMIC Group Executive Chairman Juan Santamaria said: “Achieving full power for Glenrowan within a year demonstrates CIMIC’s ability to reliably develop and deliver renewable energy into the national market, generating power for 45,000 Australian homes and helping meet Victoria's legislated renewable energy targets of 40% by 2025 and 50% by 2030.
“It is a great example of how CIMIC Group is leveraging expansion opportunities in growth markets for a new generation of infrastructure, right across energy transition, digital infrastructure and technology, and sustainable infrastructure.”
Pacific Partnerships’ Managing Director Simon Nicholls said: “Glenrowan Solar Farm is now commissioned and remains on track to reach practical completion ahead of schedule – a remarkable achievement that is testament to the great work of the Pacific and UGL teams, and the collaborative approach from AEMO and the Victorian transmission network operator (AusNet).”
“Achieving full power just one year after Financial Close demonstrates the delivery certainty of our integrated energy model, while making a meaningful contribution to driving new investment.”
UGL Managing Director Doug Moss said receiving permission to operate at full power demonstrates that the network operators are satisfied with the quality of the solar farm’s generation performance.
“Smooth delivery of the solar farm and efficient commissioning demonstrates the benefit of close cooperation between two CIMIC Group companies, with aligned objectives for clean energy transition and community benefit.”
The 245ha Glenrowan Solar Farm is located in Victoria’s North East Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), and has grid connection and services agreements with AusNet and AEMO. It is part of a 2.5GW suite of energy projects currently under development as Pacific Partnerships makes strong progress towards its target of a 5GW energy platform.
The solar farm will continue to provide positive community benefit for the next 10 years, through its Community Benefit Sharing Program. The first round of grant funding was recently awarded to 11 local community groups, assisting them to meet local needs through a diverse suite of initiatives including protection and conservation of the local natural environment.