Victoria’s State Electricity Commission (SEC) has connected the 119MW solar PV plant component of its SEC Renewable Energy Park in Australia to the grid for the first time.
The milestone follows the completion of all 212,296 PV modules across the site in late 2025, and means the solar PV plant has now finished every major construction task, including the tracker system, a 162.5-tonne transformer, a switch room substation and high-voltage infrastructure, cables and earth grid.
Try Premium for just $1
- Full premium access for the first month at only $1
- Converts to an annual rate after 30 days unless cancelled
- Cancel anytime during the trial period
Premium Benefits
- Expert industry analysis and interviews
- Digital access to PV Tech Power journal
- Exclusive event discounts
Or get the full Premium subscription right away
Or continue reading this article for free
SEC executive general manager of assets Lane Crockett said the step marks one of the most important milestones on any renewable energy project.
“Before this stage, a project must complete thousands of installation, construction, and safety activities, which must then pass inspections, testing, and safety checks to ensure they operate correctly and safely,” Crockett said.
The solar PV plant will now proceed through hot commissioning and hold point testing, a staged process that involves gradually switching on and testing the substations, transformers, underground cables, inverters and other electrical equipment.
The 100MW/200MWh battery energy storage system (BESS) has not yet arrived on site, with the SEC stating that its next step is preparing for the system’s arrival and installation later this year.
Once operational in 2027, Crockett said the project would support the state’s planned retirement of coal assets, including the Yallourn power station, scheduled to close in 2028.
From a private VRET2 winner to Victoria’s first state-owned solar-plus-storage asset
The Horsham project’s ownership history traces back to Victoria’s second Renewable Energy Target auction.
Under its original name, Horsham Solar Farm won VRET2 in October 2022 under ESCO Pacific ownership, one of six successful projects that together added 623MW of solar and 365MW/600MWh of battery storage across the state, backed by AU$1.48 billion (US$0.95 billion) in investment.
At that stage, Horsham was specified at 118.8MW of solar paired with a comparatively modest 50MW/100MWh battery.
The project later changed hands to Swedish developer OX2 before the SEC acquired it in September 2024, doubling the planned battery storage component to its current 100MW/200MWh specification as part of a broader AU$370 million investment.
OX2 has continued as a development partner following the ownership transfer, with construction officially beginning in April 2025, following pre-construction works that started in February.
The SEC’s return to energy generation follows the Victorian government’s revival of the entity, historically the state’s public electricity provider before privatisation in the 1990s, as a vehicle to drive the renewable energy transition while retaining public ownership of the resulting assets.
The Horsham development will operate alongside the SEC’s larger Melbourne Renewable Energy Hub, a 600MW/1.6GWh facility which became operational in December 2025, with the two projects together positioning the SEC to supply approximately 5% of Victoria’s electricity market once it re-enters the retail sector.
