The Australian arm of United Kingdom-based renewables giant Octopus Group announced that the $850 million Blind Creek solar farm and battery project has received connection approval from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO).
The Blind Creek project, being developed near the town of Bungendore in southeast New South Wales (NSW), will combine a 300 MW solar farm with a 243 MW / 486 MWh DC-coupled battery energy storage system.
The generator performance standards (GPS) approval, granted by AEMO and NSW-based transmission company Transgrid, confirms the project meets the technical requirements for grid connection under the National Electricity Market (NEM) framework.
Octopus Australia said the GPS approval allows the project to progress into its final development phase, including the completion of key commercial negotiations, ahead of commencing construction in Q3 2025.
“We are incredibly proud of our team for reaching this milestone” Octopus Australia co-managing director of renewables Sonia Teitel said. “Securing GPS approval for Blind Creek not only marks a significant step forward for the project but also highlights the depth of expertise within our team, with critical grid modelling work undertaken in-house.”
“We look forward to commencing construction on the project in the next 12 months.”
Once operational, the Blind Creek project will have the capacity to produce 735 GWh of renewable energy annually, enough to power up to 120,000 homes and businesses.
Octopus said the project, located about 8 km northwest of Bungendore, between the major load centres of Sydney and Canberra, would make a significant contribution to Australia’s clean energy future with the project’s DC-coupled hybrid technology to enhance grid reliability.
The hybrid DC-coupled technology involves solar panels and batteries sharing the same inverter, with the batteries distributed throughout the site. This means that fewer inverters are required resulting in a cheaper, more efficient system.
“This innovative configuration allows solar energy generated during the day to be stored in the batteries when energy prices are low and dispatched in the evening peaks when demand and pricing is high,” the developer said. “This allows the delivery of more valuable electricity to the market and maximises returns for investors.”
German inverter supplier SMA and Finnish energy technology company Wartsila have been named as key suppliers for the project.
The Blind Creek project milestone comes after Octopus commenced construction last month on its first DC-coupled project, the Fulham solar farm and battery, being built in Victoria’s Gippsland region.
Octopus Investments Australia is owned by the UK-based Octopus Group, which manages 3.7 GW of renewable energy assets worth more than $14.51 billion (£7 billion) across 15 countries.
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