Metlen Energy and Metals, formerly known as Mytilineos, announced that its 120 MW Munna Creek Solar Farm near Gympie in southeast Queensland has completed commissioning and is now fully operational.
The facility is the second solar farm in Queensland to declare its completion within a week after Acciona Energía announced its 380 MW Aldoga Solar Farm had officially commenced operations.
The Munna Creek milestone comes three months after the solar farm entered the market operator’s grid management system and 18 months after construction began.
Located about 40 kilometres northwest of Gympie in Queensland’s Fraser Coast region, the Munna Creek Solar Farm is expected to generate about 300,000 MWh of clean energy annually, equivalent to the annual consumption of about 41,100 average Australian homes.
Image: NBN Co
Much of the output is contracted under power purchase agreements (PPAs) with communications giant Telstra and Australian government-owned digital infrastructure company NBN Co.
Telstra has committed to buy half of the energy generated by the solar plant while NBN Co has signed up to take 59 GWh annually, or about 20% of the expected total generation, as part of a 10-year PPA.
It is NBN Co’s third such renewable energy offtake deal, with the other two linked to Lightsource bp’s 75 MW West Wyalong Solar Farm in the New South Wales Riverina and AGL’s 420 MW Macarthur Wind Farm in southwest Victoria. The company has contracted to take approximately 90 GWh per annum of renewable energy generated by the West Wyalong Solar Farm and is purchasing about 90 GWh per year from Macarthur Wind Farm.
NBN Co regional and remote Chief Development Officer Gavin Williams said the three offtake agreements mean the company, one of Australia’s largest electricity users, can meet all of its electricity requirements through renewable sources.
“We set a target in 2021, and with the successful completion of the Munna Creek Solar Farm, we are delivering on our commitments,” he said, adding that “expanding the use of renewable energy sources and investing in energy efficiency, including deployment of fibre, enables us to drive down our emissions and operating costs.”
NBN Co has a target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions in its operations and across the value chain by 2045.
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