South Australian-based solar farm developer Green Gold Energy revealed on Thursday (11 July) that it has received development approval to construct a 108MW solar farm in South Australia.
The project, which will also incorporate 91.7MWh of battery energy storage, will be situated on land in the Stuart region, northeast of the state capital, Adelaide. It is hoped the project will be shovel-ready by the end of the year.
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Dubbed the Morgan solar and battery energy storage project, Green Gold Energy said it is expected to “draw in an investment value of over AUS$185 million (US$125 million) and create employment opportunities over the 18-month construction period”.
Alongside producing renewable energy via solar, the company is also investigating future opportunities to produce green hydrogen on-site.
With the development authorisation process now complete, attention turns to the connection agreement process. Four stages remain before it is ready to build, including an agreement on the generator performance standard, the completion of a full impact assessment, attaining NER 5.3.3 approval, and, finally, the execution of a connection agreement.
A substation will be constructed as part of the solar farm. It will be located adjacent to the existing high-voltage transmission line to minimise the need for additional overhead lines to connect to the grid. The project is also designed to ensure agricultural practices can continue.
Alongside the Morgan solar farm, it is worth noting that the developer is exploring plans to construct a 200MW solar PV farm in the Australian Plains region of South Australia, which also includes 200MW of battery energy storage. The project is expected to be shovel-ready by the end of 2024, and construction will commence in 2025.
South Australia signs Renewable Energy Transformation Agreement
As reported by PV Tech, on Wednesday (10 July), South Australia became the first state to sign a Renewable Energy Transformation Agreement. The agreement aims to provide the necessary infrastructure for the nation to be powered 100% by wind and solar by 2027.
The agreement will see the state support the development of at least 1GW of solar and wind power by underwriting developers. The federal support will also see it underwrite 400MW of new energy storage capacity to provide additional stability and flexibility to the grid as it transitions to variable renewable energy.
