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By HARRY CLARKE
THREE years after French renewable energy giant Neoen first broke ground at the site of its mammoth Western Downs Green Energy Hub (WDGPH) near Kogan, the one millionth panel as been installed as the project nears 100 percent completion.
The $600 million, million-panel WDGPH covers 1500 hectares and will generate 400MW once fully operational, making it Australia’s largest solar farm.
Neoen has commissioned the construction contractor behind the project, India-based Sterling & Wilson, to now build a 200MW battery storage system at the site.
Publicly owned green energy operator CleanCo will use 80 percent of the WDGPH’s output under under a confidential power purchasing agreement with Neoen.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Deputy Premier Stephen Miles joined Neoen CEO Louis de Sambucy and representatives from a large team of contractors involved in the project to mark the million-panel milestone.
“This is incredible, and what we are absolutely seeing now is because of our Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan, it is becoming a magnet for further investment,” Palaszczuk said.
“We’re going to be seeing more and more of these solar farms across Queensland because that’s what we need to transition to our renewable future.”
The WDGH is currently generating 350MW of power. Final testing and commissioning will carried out over coming weeks to bring the facility to its full capacity of 400MW, which is enough electricity to power 235,000 Queensland homes.
The project created close to 450 job during construction but workforce will shrink to about 10 during operation, de Sambucy told the Caller. Additional workers will be required to construct and operate the adjoining battery storage facility.
He said developers had to overcome significant hurdles caused by the pandemic to bring the project to completion.
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“It’s a massive solar farm, one of the most competitive assets that we have worldwide,” de Sambucy said.
“Neoen is operating in 15 countries and the project that we have here is a world class project because of its size, because of its technology and because of the fantastic solar resources that we have here in Queensland, and in particular the Western Downs.
“I am happy to say that we have now, in total, invested more than $1.2 billion in Queensland with almost 800MW in wind, solar and storage. We are keen to do more and we are keen to participate in this energy transition that is happening very quickly in Queensland toward the 70 percent target by 2023.
“I want to pay tribute to the Neoen construction team and the Sterling & Wilson construction team. We had to overcome massive challenges – border closures, the inability to travel, supply chain disruption.
“We were very convinced of the merit of this project, so that’s why in May 2020 we were able to make the decision to go forward thanks to CleanCo, Powerlink and Sterling & Wilson.”
Neoen’s power purchasing agreement with CleanCo will run for 10 years, providing green energy to CleanCo’s major clients including Coles, Westfarmers (Kmart, Target, Bunnings, Officeworks), Scentre Group (Westfield shopping centres), The Ville, Cairns Regionoal Council and BHP.
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“This energy will be delivered to our largest commercial and industrial customers, so this is an essential part of our portfolio,” CleanCo CEO Tom Metcalfe said.
“This solar facility here, working together with our pumped hydro facility at Wivenhoe and also our Swanbank Station at Ipswich, and our our northern assets (such as) Baron Gorge allow us to provide 24/7 green energy to our customers.
“That’s what they’re looking for. They want to be sustainable in a net zero future, and we can deliver that for them.”
Deputy Premier Stephen Miles added: “Through the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan we are doing what Queensland has always done – taken our natural advantages and used them to build industries, deliver economic growth and intergenerational prosperity and jobs,” Miles said.
“He we are taking our world leading solar resources, our fantastic wind resources, the geography that allows us to build pumped hydro and of course our critical minerals.”