Adelaide-headquartered renewable energy developer ZEN Energy has signed a 10-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with developer Enel Green Power Australia to secure green energy produced from 98MW solar PV project in New South Wales.
The Quorn Park Hybrid Project is located 10 km northwest of Parkes, close to the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), which recently became the first REZ to obtain Commonwealth planning approval.
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The hybrid project features a 98MWdc solar PV project and a 20MW/40MWh battery energy storage system (BESS). Enel Green Power Australia acquired the solar-plus-storage project in late 2022 and plans to start full operations in the first half of 2026.
Under the terms of the agreement, financed by a group of banks, including Westpac and the Bank of China, ZEN Energy will secure 68MW of supply from the solar PV project. This will support the group’s ambition to secure 2TWh of renewable energy annually from 2024.
Enel Green Power Australia set a Q3 2024 construction date in June, as reported by PV Tech. Once completed, the project will be one of the first hybrid solar and battery projects connected to the National Electricity Market (NEM). Instead of having two connection points nearby, it will share a single connection point to the electricity grid under the Generator Performance Standards (GPS).
Commenting on the PPA, Anthony Garnaut, CEO of ZEN Energy, said the deal represents a “maturing of ZEN’s eco-system of sustainability-driven renewable energy suppliers.”
“This new partnership with EGPA represents a maturing of ZEN’s eco-system of sustainability-driven renewable energy suppliers and marks a new level of relationship with our banking partners. We are now well-placed to double our generation portfolio this year to 2TWh per annum,” Garnaut said.
“ZEN has also deliberately sought to align with projects like Quorn Park that will be positive for nature. Australia’s transition to clean electricity can be achieved in time to help drive down the country’s emissions through projects like this that also ensure our unique wildlife and biodiversity is safeguarded.”
Enel Green Power Australia currently operates three renewable energy plants with 310MW of installed solar capacity. Earlier this year, the organisation confirmed plans to buy a 1GW solar and wind project from minerals company QEM.
Werther Esposito, CEO of Enel Green Power Australia, believes the project will provide “significant value to the local community” as well as the organisation’s stakeholders.
