Two new solar farms commissioned in NSW Riverina

Amsterdam-based renewable energy firm Photon Energy has announced the commissioning of its first utility-scale solar power plants in Australia. Construction on the Leeton and Fivebough farms began back in October 2020, and with a combined capacity of 14.6 MWp the plants’ commissioning is auspicious of the great renewable energy potential in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area. 

Located in the New South Wales (NSW) town of Leeton, home of the mighty Leeton Phantoms, the two solar facilities utilise bi-facial modules on single-axis trackers with a grid connection owned and operated by Essential Energy. Together they have an estimated generation capacity of 27.8 GWh of solar energy for the National Electricity Market (NEM) and for Large Generation Certificates (LGCs), meaning no power purchase agreements (PPAs) are yet in place but due to the rising popularity of PPAs, the possibility remains open as a future revenue source. 

“Today marks another milestone for Photon Energy,” said Michael Gartner, CTO of Photon Energy Group, “with the commissioning of the first utility-scale plants in Australia to be added to our portfolio, which will help the Group in reducing the seasonality of electricity-generation revenues globally.” 

“Our merchant approach in Australia paves the way for grid-competitive assets to be developed and added to our European markets and elsewhere in the world,” continued Gartner. “In these challenging times, we are proud that our Australian team has made another major achievement, representing an important step towards the implementation of our growth strategy.” 

According to a company statement, both projects were developed in-house, with the Group’s subsidiary Photon Energy Engineering Australia handling engineering, procurement and construction, and another subsidiary, Photon Energy Operations Australia, set to provide long-term O&M services.