Sydney-headquartered high voltage infrastructure specialist Intium is utilising advanced technology to connect Denmark headquartered developer European Energy Australia’s 32 MW Mulwala Solar Farm (MSF) to the grid.
Intium has been awarded a build, own, operate and maintain (BOOM) contract for the delivery of the connection infrastructure for the project being developed on a 215-hectare site near the town of Mulwala in southern New South Wales. Once energised, the project will generate approximately 66 GWh of clean energy per annum, equivalent to the power needs of more than 20,000 homes.
Intium is delivering the full connection scope of the Mulwala project, including the design, procurement, installation, testing and commissioning of a 22 kV switching station, which includes a two-kilometre underground cable linking the solar farm to local distribution network operator Essential Energy’s Mulwala Zone Substation.
Advanced trenchless technology
Image: Intium
Intium Executive General Manager Nathan Rhodes told pv magazine key equipment involved in the project include 2 km of 22 kV underground cable, multiple horizontal directional drilling rigs for trenchless crossing, joint bays and link boxes for cable terminations, 77 Ingeteam Ingecon Sun Power B Series inverter units, and 22 medium-voltage transformer stations to optimse grid integration and energy conversion.
“For Mulwala, Intium is leveraging advanced trenchless technology and precision horizontal directional drilling (HDD) for the underground cable installation,” Rhodes said.
“We’re just starting to see this technology come into the renewable energy sector from other sectors, and it is a lot less impactful to the environment, reduces reinstatement costs, and accelerates the delivery compared to traditional cut and cover, or open cut methods.”
Rhodes said the technology is well suited to the mixed soil and potential rocky conditions at the site.
“There’s onboard sensing systems giving real-time sensing from the drilling process, so you get real-time feedback from the equipment and can always know you’re going in the right direction,” he said.
Image: Intium
Grid connection
Rhodes said understanding how to connect to the grid in Australia is technically taxing and the market has its own nuances.
“Many clients and customers do struggle with that connection-to-grid piece, but it’s a sweet spot of ours, to navigate that complexity, and obviously you need all the right tech to bring that together,” he said.
Rhodes added he has seen connection technology rapidly progress from project to project, which helps to work with network providers to get network integration right and for the connection and commissioning of projects like Mulwala.
“Connecting to the grid is a key theme across Intium’s focus areas that include renewables, electric vehicle charging infrastructure and the electrification of industrial sectors such as mining, agriculture and heavy transportation,” he said.
“A lot of these technologies are also able to provide services to networks to help with stabilisation, which is great for the network, not just developer.”
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