Utility giant Engie’s Australian division has reached financial close for its 250MW Goorambat East Solar Farm project in northern Victoria.
The Goorambat East Solar Farm is around 500 metres east of Goorambat and 12km north of Benalla in Victoria. It lies between the regional centres of Shepparton and Wangaratta and will sit on around 630 hectares of land.
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Construction of the site is expected to be finished in 2026, and Engie anticipates generating its first electricity in 2027.
As part of the Goorambat East Solar Farm project, Engie has committed to providing the local community with A$75,000 (US$50,000) per year for the project’s lifetime, around 30 years, upon the solar farm’s operationalisation.
Engie confirmed that the solar project will be connected to the newly constructed Goorambat East Terminal Station, which will be positioned alongside the existing single circuit 220kV transmission line route between Shepparton Terminal Station and Dederang Terminal Station.
This station will be operated and maintained by AusNet in accordance with connection agreements made with the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
Engie Australia’s managing director of renewables, Laura Caspari, said landholder agreements for the project had been signed with five local Goorambat families and early construction works had begun.
“Engie reaching financial close on the Goorambat East Solar Farm is a major step in progressing our renewable energy development pipeline and reflects the company’s focus on growth and decarbonisation, and our commitment to delivering 3GW of renewable energy in Australia by 2030,” Caspari said.
“The continued development of the Goorambat East Solar Farm is another positive sign for the renewable energy industry in Victoria, as well as Australia’s response to managing the worst impacts of climate change.”
Solar-plus-storage project granted approval in New South Wales
In other Australian solar PV news, Acen Australia’s 600MW Birriwa solar-plus-storage project has been granted approval by the New South Wales Independent Planning Commission (IPC).
As reported by PV Tech yesterday (19 August), the system will also provide grid stability services and backup capacity to ensure the security of supply. This approval also marks the first generation and storage project approved for connection to the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) transmission network. The REZ recently transitioned into the delivery phase, as reported by PV Tech last month.
