Bungala Solar Project: Construction set to begin
Construction at the 300mw Bungala Solar Project is set to commence shortly as Origin Energy (ASX:ORG) have signed a Power Purchase Agreement to buy all energy generated by the plant, which will be built by Reach Solar. The project (for those interested, view the DA here) is set to occupy 800 hectares of Bungala Aboriginal Corporation‘s land – situated about 10km north east of Port Augusta. This will be known as the project’s second phase – Bungala Solar Two.
The Bungala Solar Project will generate 220mw of energy by using solar panels that follow the sun’s position throughout the day. The site will be ‘battery storage ready’ and have capacity for another 80mw at the end of construction. According to RenewEconomy, Reach has submitted proposals for both 20MWh of battery storage and 100MWh – so we’ll see how that goes in the next few months. Watching the growing significance of energy storage during the creation of these new PV solar farms is fantastic – the technology is starting to reach the point where it will be a mainstay of every solar farm.
Port Augusta’s Renewables Future
Reach CEO Tony Concannon lauded the ‘great news’ for Port Augusta during its transition to a ‘renewable energy hub’. The project is expected to create up to 350 jobs throughout its construction and is being financed without any government assistance. City Mayor of Port Augusta, Sam Johnson, was also proud of the result, advising that “Our vision is for Port Augusta to be the renewable energy capital of Australia and the confidence Reach has shown in our city strengthens our resolve to achieve this title.”
According to Reach Solar, the Bungala Solar Project will be one of Australia’s largest solar farms – it will be ready to start supplying power by summer 2018 but it will not be fully operational (220mw) until around August 2018.
In other Port Augusta renewables news, $450m wind farm (the 212mw Lincoln Gap Wind Farm Project) is also quite close to signoff – read more here.
