Against the backdrop of the 2018 record set by global businesses for the amount of clean energy purchased through power purchase agreements (PPAs), the appetite for clean energy among Australian corporations is growing at a fast pace. One of the indicators of this trend is Flow Power’s latest move to expand its portfolio of renewable generation for its corporate clients.
The commercial electricity retailer has inked a ten-year offtake agreement with German renewable energy developer BayWa r.e. to purchase 48 MW from two northern Victoria’s solar farms.
The 112 MW Karadoc Solar Farm and 106 MW Yatpool Solar Farm, owned and developed by BayWa r.e, will provide 20 MW and 28 MW respectively to power Flow’s corporate renewable PPAs.
Flow Power first introduced corporate renewable PPAs in 2017, and the latest deal will bring its total announced offtake close to 300 MW.
“The demand for corporate renewable PPAs is only growing,” Flow Managing Director Matthew van der Linden said. “We’re excited to welcome Karadoc and Yatpool Solar Farm to our portfolio and are committed to this ever-growing sector of the energy market.”
In one of its latest PPA deals, Flow Power contracted 69 MW of the output of the 120 MW Bomen Solar Farm in New South Wales to power one of the nation’s largest vineyard owners and the first wine producer to sign a large-scale hybrid renewable corporate PPA, Australian Vintage, and a major snack food manufacturer, Snack Brands.
More recently, the retailer has signed a PPA with for the output of the 30 MW Mannum Solar Farm in South Australia, which module manufacturing heavyweight Canadian Solar recently bought from local renewables developer Tetris Energy for an undisclosed sum.
“This agreement with BayWa r.e. brings us one step closer to locking in more low-cost power for businesses across Australia and is a critical step forward for Australia’s energy market,” der Linden said.
The two solar farms are BayWa’s biggest projects in Australia. The Karadoc Solar Farm has a signed 12-year PPA with major Australian brewer Cartlon United Breweries, to purchase 74,000 MWh a year.
The Yatpool project, pencilled in for completion in late 2019, will take BayWa’s projected renewable energy development close to 240 MW within just two years of entering the Australian renewable energy market.
According to Director of BayWa r.e., Daniel Parsons, the PPA agreement was a major milestone in the development of the Yatpool Solar Farm.
“PPAs are fundamental to the success of solar energy projects of this scale,” Parsons said. “We’re very pleased to find a partner in Flow Power, who, in a restricted PPA market, will help us to bring renewable energy to businesses of all sizes across Australia.”
Inked alongside the offtake deal with Flow Power, another milestone on the solar project was the EPC deal between BayWa r.e. and Melbourne-based renewable energy contractor Beon Energy Solutions.
Beon Energy Solution’s general manager, Glen Thomson, said the construction of the solar farm would deliver significant local and state-wide benefits.
“Victoria is on the way to becoming a renewable energy powerhouse and we are pleased to be part of this transition,” Thomson said.
“The Yatpool solar farm project will create jobs, boost the local economy and support cleaner energy for homes and businesses. We will continue providing job and skill development opportunities in the region during the construction of this solar farm, as we did at Karadoc.”
The Yatpool Sola Farm is scheduled to start construction in early 2019.
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