Acen Australia has achieved full commercial operation at its 400MW Stubbo Solar project in New South Wales, making it the first solar PV power plant backed by a Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA) to reach this milestone.
The project, located 293km northwest of Sydney in the central west region of New South Wales, was developed before the formal establishment of the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), but now sits at the centre of this designated renewable energy development area.
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Acen Australia secured a 20-year LTESA for the project through the New South Wales government’s inaugural renewable energy and storage auction in May 2023. The agreement provides price certainty for the project while supporting the state’s renewable energy targets and grid decarbonisation objectives.
In total, 1.1GW of renewable energy projects were selected for an LTESA.
The Stubbo Solar project will generate approximately 1,000GWh of electricity annually and features nearly one million solar PV modules across the site, which will continue to support grazing activities underneath and between the solar arrays in the form of agrivoltaics.
Readers of PV Tech will likely be aware that Acen Australia committed to recycling one million modules from the 400MW solar PV power plant last week, making Stubbo Solar the first large-scale project to earn certification from the Circular PV Alliance.
ACEN Australia managing director David Pollington hailed the project’s completion, stating that its development started “long before” the policy frameworks now shaping Australia’s renewable energy landscape were in place.
“As the market evolves, costs are rising, delivery conditions are changing rapidly, and market dynamics are shifting – these pressures are real, and they reinforce the importance of partnership between government and industry to ensure policy settings remain responsive, effective and investment-ready,” Pollington added.
Acen Australia began construction of the 400MW PV project in 2023, with the facility now amongst the largest solar projects built in Australia.
Stubbo Solar includes provision for a future 200MW/800MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), positioning the site to provide firming capacity as the electricity grid transitions to higher renewable energy penetration.
The battery component will enhance the project’s ability to provide dispatchable renewable energy during periods when solar generation is unavailable.
The project’s financing structure demonstrates the scale of ACEN Australia’s renewable energy development program. ACEN Australia completed AU$750 million debt financing for 1.3GW of renewables, supporting multiple projects across the company’s development pipeline. The financing package enables the company to simultaneously advance construction on several large-scale renewable energy facilities.
The project generated approximately 400 jobs during the construction period. The facility connects to TransGrid’s high-voltage transmission network, enabling efficient delivery of renewable energy to population centres across the National Electricity Market (NEM).
Stubbo Solar’s completion demonstrates the effectiveness of LTESA arrangements in providing investment certainty for large-scale renewable energy projects. The 20-year agreement structure provides revenue stability, supporting project financing while ensuring a long-term renewable energy supply for the electricity system.
