Italian oil giant invests in Australian solar

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Reddit
Email

Eni Australia, a subsidiary of Italian oil and gas firm Eni, which has been active in Australia since 2000, has acquired a 33.7MW construction-ready solar-plus-storage project in the Northern Territory of Australia, from Katherine Solar, a joint venture between Australia’s Epuron and the UK-based Island Green Power. 

Once completed, the project near Katherine will be the largest PV farm in the Northern Territory and will include a battery storage system with a capacity of 5.7MVA/2.9MWh. A cloud coverage predicting technology will also be installed. 

This article requires Premium SubscriptionBasic (FREE) Subscription

Unlock unlimited access for 12 whole months of distinctive global analysis

Photovoltaics International is now included.

  • Regular insight and analysis of the industry’s biggest developments
  • In-depth interviews with the industry’s leading figures
  • Unlimited digital access to the PV Tech Power journal catalogue
  • Unlimited digital access to the Photovoltaics International journal catalogue
  • Access to more than 1,000 technical papers
  • Discounts on Solar Media’s portfolio of events, in-person and virtual

Or continue reading this article for free

Construction is expected to start in the next few weeks, with an expected commercial operation date in Q4 2019. Epuron will help to manage the PV farm once it is operational. 

This initiative marks Eni’s entry in the Australian renewables market. Eni Australia is already the operator and owner of the Blacktip Gas Project and has a non-operated interest in the Bayu-Undan gas and condensate field and in the associated Darwin LNG plant.

The hybrid project will contribute to the Northern Territory’s government goal to procure 50% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. 

Algerian state-run company Sonatrach and Eni recently inaugurated a 10MW solar PV project to power an oil field in Bir Rebaa North (BRN) in Algeria, with plans to open an R&D hub for desert-based solar.

Read Next

July 4, 2025
Australian retailer AGL Energy has confirmed its acquisition of South Australia’s Virtual Power Plant (SAVPP) from Tesla.
July 2, 2025
A new state-owned green bank, the Energy Security Corporation (ESC), has launched in New South Wales, Australia, with an initial funding allocation of AU$1 billion (US$640 million).
July 2, 2025
Indigenous-led renewable energy company Yindjibarndi Energy Corporation (YEC) has submitted plans for a hybrid wind and solar PV renewable energy project to the Australian government’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
July 2, 2025
Robotics company Luminous has received AU$4.9 million (US$3.2 million) via Australia’s Solar ScaleUp Challenge to support deploying its ‘LUMI’ technology at utility-scale solar PV power plants.
July 1, 2025
A five-year research initiative is underway in Australia to test the viability of floating solar systems on irrigation dams.
June 30, 2025
Eni subsidiary Plentiude has started operations at the northern block of its 330MW Renopool solar portfolio in Spain.

Subscribe to Newsletter

Upcoming Events

Media Partners, Solar Media Events
September 2, 2025
Mexico City, Mexico
Solar Media Events
September 16, 2025
Athens, Greece
Solar Media Events
September 22, 2025
Bilbao, Spain
Solar Media Events
September 30, 2025
Seattle, USA
Solar Media Events
October 1, 2025
London, UK