Flow Power contracts Bomen Solar Farm output for wine, munchies producers

In the latest sign of the growing appetite for clean energy among Australian businesses, Flow Power has expanded its portfolio of renewable generation for its corporate clients.

The retailer has inked a deal with renewables developer Renew Estate, which is partly owned by German developer Wirsol Energy, contracting 69 MW of the output of the 120 MW Bomen Solar Farm in New South Wales.

The Bomen solar project, which includes a 40 MWh battery storage component, is scheduled to be fully operational by Q4 2019.

Through Flow Power’s corporate renewable Power Purchase Agreements (PPAs), its output will be used to power winemaker Australian Vintage and munchies producer Snack Brands.

Last month, Australian Vintage became the first Australian wine producer to sign a large-scale hybrid renewable corporate PPA, based on which it will power 90% of its Buronga Hill facility over the next ten years. Specifically, its NSW-based winery will be powered through 1.7 MW owned solar generation on-site, along with a mix of wind and solar generation, the latter supplied by Bomen Solar Farm.

This announcement was closely followed by Pernod Ricard Winemakers’ decision to source 100% of its electricity from renewables by mid-2019. The winemaker’s plan is to ferment and bottle its wine brands using the output of a 2.8 MW PV array installed at its Barossa Valley winery and sourcing the remainder of its power from renewable energy, under a Virtual Generation Agreement with Flow Power.

Snack Brands, which also entered into a corporate renewable PPA last month, is said to be the first business to enter into a five-year agreement with Flow Power.

The retailer, which counts Olam Orchards, ANCA Machines and Burra Foods as customers, first introduced corporate renewable PPAs to the Australian market in 2017. Its first solar PPA was signed earlier this year for a quarter of the production from the 256.5 MWp Kiamal Solar Farm.

“This year, our renewable portfolio has grown exponentially,” said Matthew van der Linden, Managing Director of Flow Power.

“We believe that supporting Australia’s pipeline of renewable projects is the key to shaping a better energy future. These agreements are a crucial piece of the puzzle, and will bring us closer to realising this future.”

Overall, this has been a banner year for corporate renewable energy.

Australia’s largest solar PPA contracting for 88 MW was inked by steel giant Bluescope Steel with ESCO Pacific to cover 20% of its electricity requirements over seven years from NSW’s Finley Solar Project.

Other notable ones were signed by Simec Zen Energy and Australian brewer CUB, as well as the University of New South Wales, which is seeking to become 100% solar powered.