Innogy Starts Construction of Australia’s Largest Solar Power Plant

Essen, Germany - Innogy is progressing in growing a value accretive solar business in Australia: Following the completion of the acquisition in mid-September, the company has taken the final investment decision for a solar power plant with an installed capacity of 349 megawatts peak (MWp).

Limondale, Australia’s largest solar project to date, is located near Balranald, New South Wales. Preparation works and pre-pilling tests are currently underway, with construction works expected to commence this October. Commissioning of the plant will take place progressively, with full commercial operation expected in mid-2020.

Innogy’s subsidiary Belectric is the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor of the solar farm, as well as the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) service provider.

In addition to Limondale, Innogy signed a contract to take over the project rights for the New South Wales development project Hillston in early 2018, with a planned capacity of 115 MWp. The transfer of the project company to Innogy is anticipated to take place end of this year. Both large-scale solar projects were developed by Overland Sun Farming, one of the solar leading Australian development companies.

According to Innogy the planned investment volume of both projects – Limondale and Hillston – totals to more than 400 million Euro (over 650 million AUD). Innogy will review all options regarding the future ownership and financing structure of the projects in order to maximise value for the company and shareholders.

As a result of Innogy’s expansion into the Australian market, it has established the subsidiary Innogy Renewables Australia. The Melbourne based team is exploring further renewable opportunities including further solar, battery storage and wind (onshore and offshore) locally.

Source: IWR Online, 05 Oct 2018