Photon Energy has started the development of a 316MW solar power plant near Gunning in the state of New South Wales (NSW), Australia.
When completed, it is claimed to become the largest planned solar power plant in the country. About 590 hectares of land will be utilised in the solar plant’s construction.
Presently, the project is going through the NSW government State Significant Development process and Grid Connection process with Australian electricity operator, Transgrid and the actual construction of the solar plant is expected to begin in early 2019.
For the grid connection process, ACT will design a substation for approximately 300 MW AC to be connected to Transgrid’s 330 KV network.
Photon Energy Australia managing director Michael Gartner said: “Gunning is to date the largest solar project Photon Energy is developing with a view of making a material contribution to Australia’s goal of meeting its renewable energy target.
“Photon Energy is also developing further large-scale solar power plants with a combined capacity of 42 MWp in Australia.”
Photon Energy NV CEO Georg Hotar said: “Today’s announcement puts us into a leading position in the Australian market for utility-scale solar projects and confirms our ability to identify suitable locations in the world’s sunniest continent and reinforces our commitment to contribute substantially to the transformation of Australia’s energy mix towards renewable energy sources.”
Photon Energy has built and commissioned over 50MW of solar power plants since its formation in 2008. The company, with its headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands, operates across Australia, Switzerland, Czech Republic and Slovakia.
Image: Photon Energy begins work on 316MW solar plant in Australia. Photo: Courtesy of start08/FreeDigitalPhotos.net.