Bungala Solar Project starts generating to grid

A 45 MW portion of the Bungala solar farm has begun feeding electricity into the grid. The entire first phase of the project – a 137.7 MW PV plant – is expected to be completed in a few months.

May 31, 2018 Marija Maisch

The Harlin solar farm is set to be the biggest in Australia.

Image: Enel

One of Australia’s most ambitious solar PV projects – the 220 MW/275 MWdc Bungala solar farm near Port Augusta in South Australia – has begun production from its 45 MW portion of the 137.7 MWdc Bungala Solar One PV plant.

The 137.7 MW unit is owned by a joint venture between Italian power utility Enel, through its subsidiary Enel Green Power, and the Dutch Infrastructure Fund, which together invested $157 million to acquire the plant from Bungala Solar Holding Pty Ltd., a subsidiary of Australian developer Reach Solar Energy.

Overall, the 275 MW facility is estimated at around $315 million, which will be financed through a mix of equity and project finance with a consortium of local and international banks.

Scheduled to go fully online in early 2019, the Bungala solar park is expected to produce 570 GWh per year, which will be purchased by local utility Origin Energy, based on a long-term PPA.

“We have just reached a historic landmark for our Group in an entirely new continent, as this is the first renewable energy flowing into the Australian grid from Enel,” said Antonio Cammisecra, Head of Enel Green Power.

The Bungala Solar One, which will, once completed, comprise 420,000 polycrystalline PV modules mounted on single-axis trackers, broke ground in October last year.

“We are just a few months away from the completion of this solar plant and look forward to other opportunities this renewable-resource-rich country will have to offer,” Cammisecra said.

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