Renewables developer Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV) Australia is seeking environmental approval from the federal government for the proposed Texas solar and battery project to be built in northern New South Wales (NSW) near the Queensland border.
FRV Australia, owned by a Saudi investment fund Abdul Latif Jameel Energy and Canadian infrastructure fund Omers, is seeking a referral decision for the project from the Australian government’s Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment, and Water (DCEEW) under the environment protection and biodiversity (EPBC) Act.
EPBC referral documents indicate the proposed solar and battery project, to be built in NSW just south of the Queensland town of Texas, and spread over approximately 426 hectares of land, will have a generation capacity up to 200 MW while the battery energy storage system (BESS) will have a capacity up to 550 MW / 2,200 MWh.
This is a substantial increase on the originally planned 200 MW / 400 MWh battery while the solar PV capacity has been dialled back from 400 MW.
The revised design features approximately 550,000 panels mounted on single-axis tracking systems, and a BESS grouped in containerised modules. The facility will connect to the grid via the existing 330 kV Bulli Creek to Dumaresq overhead transmission line which crosses the northwest half of the site.
FRV is targeting start of construction in 2026, with up to 200 workers expected to be required during this phase. The site is scheduled to become operational in 2029.
The Texas project is part of FRV’s approximately 1 GW of solar portfolio in Australia, which it refinanced in a $1.2 billion (USD 780 million) deal last year.
Included in FRV’s portfolio is the newly operational 300 MW Walla Walla solar farm project in the NSW Riverina region, the 125 MW Lilyvale PV plant in Queensland, and the recently acquired Axedale solar and storage project being built in central Victoria.
Its battery energy storage projects include the 100 MW / 200 MWh Terang battery being constructed in southwest Victoria and the 250 MW / 500 MWh Gnarwarre battery energy storage project being developed about 125 kilometres further west.
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