Metlen moves towards full operation with 120 MW solar farm

Fifteen months after construction of the Munna Creek Solar Farm in southeast Queensland began, the 120 MW PV power plant has entered the market operator’s grid management system and can now work its way through the testing and commissioning process.

September 8, 2025 David Carroll

Image: Metlen Energy & Metals

Greek industrial and energy company Metlen Energy and Metals’ 120 MW Munna Creek Solar Farm has been registered in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s (AEMO) Market Management System – a key step signaling readiness for commissioning and testing against its agreed generator performance standards.

The milestone was identified by Geoff Eldridge from energy advisory company Global Power Energy, who said it means the solar farm has met the conditions required to connect to the grid and commence testing and start working through the commissioning process.

“With the build phase now finished, the project has moved into testing,” he said, adding that the development represents another step in the ongoing transition to cleaner energy in the National Electricity Market.

Construction of the Munna Creek project began in June 2024 with the solar farm comprising approximately 255,000 PV panels installed across a 233-hectare site about 40 kilometres northwest of Gympie in Queensland’s Fraser Coast region. Once fully operational, it is expected to generate about 300,000 MWh of clean energy annually, enough to power about 41,100 average Australian homes.

Australian communications giant Telstra has committed to buy 50% of the energy generated by the solar plant as part of a long-term power purchase agreement.

The Munna Creek Solar Farm is Metlen’s ninth solar farm project in Australia.

The company’s portfolio includes the 110 MW Moura and the 40 MW Kingaroy solar farms in Queensland, and the 75 MW Wyalong, 40 MW Corowa and 40 MW Junee solar farms in New South Wales (NSW). Other projects in NSW include the 28 MW Moama Solar Farm and the Wagga North and Wagga South solar plants that deliver a combined 64 MW of generation capacity.

Formerly known as Mytilineos, Metlen said once fully operational the portfolio will produce almost 1 TWh renewable energy of almost 1 TWh annually.

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