Enel Green Power Australia, the Australia-based renewables arm of Italian energy company Enel, has signed a binding agreement with minerals company QEM to purchase a 1GW solar and wind project.
QEM said the Julia Creek Renewables Project will be immediately adjacent to QEM’s flagship Julia Creek Vanadium and Oil Shale project in northwest Queensland. Under the project sale agreement, Enel Green Power Australia will acquire solar and wind monitoring equipment, and more than 18 months of data, and intellectual property regarding engineering, environmental, geotechnical, floodplain and other project studies.
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In return, QEM will receive an upfront payment of AU$3 million (US$ 2million). The company will also receive two milestone payments totalling AU$4 million, and a final payment contingent on development plans.
As part of the agreement, Enel Green Power Australia will also offer 25MW of firm capacity to QEM via a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA).
In July 2023, QEM announced that it shortlisted three offers from four renewable companies for the project, including Acciona Energía, Origin Energy, Energy Estate and Enel Green Power.
The Julia Creek Renewables Project will connect to the CopperString 2.0 transmission line that connects the North West Minerals Province to the National Electricity Market.
Aside from this project, Enel Green Power Australia currently operates three solar projects totalling 310MW of installed capacity and a 76MW wind project. The company also boasts a 93MW solar project under construction.
“With outstanding wind and solar resources, the proposed project has the potential to be one of Queensland’s largest renewable energy projects, targeting a significant contribution to achieving Queensland’s renewable energy targets of 70% renewable energy by 2032 and 80% by 2035,” said Enel Green Power Australia CEO Werther Esposito.
Queensland set multiple renewable energy targets last year, including bringing 22GW of new solar and wind projects by 2035. The Queensland government said it will legislate renewable energy targets: 50% by 2030, 70% by 2032, and 80% by 2035. A total of more than AU$62 billion (US$40.85 billion) of investment will be injected, at least 95% in regional Queensland.