Carnegie eyes another 10MW solar and battery project in W.A.

Perth based Carnegie Clean Energy has revealed plans to develop a 10MW solar farm, with up to 10MWh of battery storage, in an industrial area of in the south west of Western Australia.

The ASX-listed renewables developer said on Monday that it had secured in-principle approval to negotiate a lease to build, own and operate a battery equipped solar farm at the Kemerton Strategic Industry Area – a heavy industry hub north east of Bunbury.

Carnegie said the Kemerton Solar Farm was proposed for construction in the Ancillary Industry Area of the Kemerton SIA, which was owned by the WA government and managed by LandCorp.

The site – which sits adjacent to a Western Power substation and a major 330kV transmission line – already hosts a number of industrial chemical production facilities, as well as two private peaking power stations: Transfield’s open cycle gas-fired peaking plant and Tesla’s diesel-fuelled peaking power station.

A 2015 engineering report noted that major heavy industrial plants locating in the KSIA may choose to arrange their own sources of power.

“Carnegie has a strong track record of developing greenfield sites into shovel ready renewable projects rapidly and responsibly, most recently with its Northam Solar Farm,” said Carnegie managing director Dr Michael Ottaviano.

“Carnegie is pleased to be able to support LandCorp’s commitment to sustainability through the integration of renewable energy into regional development at the Kemerton Strategic Industrial
Area.”

The new proposal adds to Carnegie’s solar development pipeline, including a 10MW solar farm it is building in Northam, and a 5MW solar farm it is building for the Newcastle council in NSW.

It is also in lease negotiations for a 100MW solar and 20MWh battery site at the Mungari Solar Farm site south-west of Kalgoorlie in Western Australia.

Last month, the company was awarded a $3 million grant by the South Australia state government to build a 2MW/500kWh battery storage installation that will create a renewable-based micro-grid on the old General Motors Holden site in Elizabeth.

The battery energy storage system (BESS) will combine with a rooftop solar of 3MW – possibly Australia’s largest at a single site – although this could be expanded to 10-15MW if all the available roof space was used.