Adani, the Indian energy giant fighting a major public backlash over its proposed mega coal mine in Queensland’s Galilee Basin, is also pushing ahead with another major solar project, and has sought regulatory approval for the construction of a 160MW solar farm in Whyalla.
The Whyalla solar farm will be located close to the Whyalla Steelworks, bought by UK billionaire Sanjeev Gupta, who intends to construct 1GW of solar and storage to reduce the plant’s energy costs, and for other major energy users in the state.
It is not clear whether the Adani Renewables project would look to supply the steelworks, sign a contract with another corporate buyer, or sell into the grid on a “merchant” basis and take the market price.
Adani Renewables has submitted its request for a generation licence to South Australia’s Essential Services Commission. The application was lodged in late November but only released by the regulatory authority this week. Adani had previously said it hoped to begin construction last year.
It says its mission is to “develop a portfolio of renewable generation including technologies such as storage and pumped hydro” and it has already begun construction of the 65MW Rugby Run solar farm in Queensland, which may be expanded to 170MW at a later stage.
Adani has said it has signed a power purchase agreement for that project, but has not said who it is with.
The release of the application comes a day after several new massive solar and battery storage projects moved through the approvals process, including a 500MW solar farm at Robertstown that could be accompanied by 250MW/1000MWh of battery storage. The company involved is also proposing a 280MW solar farm at Port Pirie.
Nearby, at the Solar River project, another 200MW solar PV development with 120MWh of battery storage is being proposed, and this could be doubled in both solar and battery capacity. Gupta has also unveiled a 280MW solar farm at Cultana, not far from Whyalla, to help power the steelworks.
