400MW solar plant in New South Wales to supply 45% of BOC Australia’s energy needs

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email
The first phase of the New England solar PV plant (pictured) started operations in March 2023. Image: ZEN Energy.

A 10-year solar-based power purchase agreement (PPA) will play an integral role in a new tri-party deal that will see industrial gas supplier BOC Australia replace 45% of its grid power needs with solar-derived renewable energy.

The tri-party agreement, signed between BOC Australia, ACEN Australia, and ZEN Energy, will seek to decarbonise BOC Australia’s, a subsidiary of gas and engineering giant Linde, operations along the east coast of Australia, in the states of Queensland, New South Wales and Victoria.

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Try Premium for just $1

  • Full premium access for the first month at only $1
  • Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
  • Cancel anytime during the trial period

Premium Benefits

  • Expert industry analysis and interviews
  • Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
  • Exclusive event discounts

Or get the full Premium subscription right away

Or continue reading this article for free

Under the terms of the deal, ACEN Australia will supply around 45% of BOC’s energy needs on the eastern seaboard through an Electricity Retail Agreement until 2035.

This hinges on the 10-year PPA signed between Adelaide-headquartered renewable energy developer ZEN Energy and ACEN Australia. This will allow ZEN Energy to secure 23% of the energy generated from ACEN Australia’s 400MW New England stage one solar PV power plant in New South Wales.

Anthony Garnaut, CEO of ZEN Energy, said the deal will help generate lower-carbon industrial gases at a competitive price and showcase the opportunity to transition to renewable energy at scale.

“This is the transition to renewable energy in action and at scale. Such big steps forward for industry sustainability and emissions reduction would not be possible unless a genuine partnership between BOC, ACEN Australia and ZEN was involved,” Garnaut said.

Linde, the owner of BOC Australia, aims to reduce its global emissions by 35% by 2035. Theo Martin, CEO of BOC Australia, believes the deal will directly impact this, particularly in reducing Scope Two emissions.

“In addition to lowering BOC’s emissions in Australia, it will also help our customers become more efficient and decarbonise their operations by supplying industrial gases which have a lower carbon intensity at a competitive price,” Martin added.

ACEN Australia’s New England solar PV plant

The first phase of the New England solar PV plant, with a generation capacity of 400MW, started operations in March 2023 and features around one million solar PV modules.

The second stage will add 320MW and will come online in 2026. The project’s first stage already supplies energy to Japanese-owned drinks company Asahi Beverages and not-for-profit care company BaptistCare via a power purchase agreement inked in July 2024.

In the first stage of the New England project, a 400MWh BESS will be co-located with a solar power plant. Construction of the BESS began earlier this year. ACEN has approval for a total of 1,400MW/2,800MWh of energy storage for the project.

The project is located within the New England Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) and near another solar-plus-storage proposal the developer is pursuing. The proposed 320MW Deeargee solar PV power plant will be located 12km southeast of the township of Uralla and around 5km south of the New England site.

Read Next

September 16, 2025
Sunotec has launched Sunotec Nordic to spearhead solar and hybrid renewable project development across the Nordic region.
September 16, 2025
IB Solar is investing INR30 billion (US$340 million) in a 4GW TOPCon solar cell and module manufacturing plant in Jewar, Uttar Pradesh.
September 15, 2025
Sunrun has priced a securitisation of leases and power purchase agreements, taking its non-recourse debt capital raised in Q3 above US$1.5 billion. 
September 15, 2025
Norwegian energy firm Statkraft has agreed to divest a portion of its renewable energy portfolio to Serentica Renewables.
September 15, 2025
UNSW spin-out company Lab360 Solar has been awarded funding from ARENA to bring its drone-based PV inspection technology to market.
September 15, 2025
Australia has reached 26.8GW of installed rooftop solar at the end of the first half of 2025, according to a report from the Clean Energy Council (CIC).

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK
Solar Media Events
October 2, 2025
London,UK
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
Manila, Philippines
Solar Media Events
October 7, 2025
San Francisco Bay Area, USA