Construction set to begin on 5MW Mobilong Solar Farm in S.A.

An Indonesia-owned company with plans to have at least 35MW of solar projects operational in 2019  – with a “pipeline of projects that are near shovel-ready” – is set to begin construction on a 5MW solar farm in South Australia.

Terregra Renewables – owned by PT Terregra Asia Energy TBK – says it will begin building the $8.5 million Mobilong Solar Farm next month, on disused farmland north of the town of Murray Bridge.

Director of the Australian subsidiary, Graham Pearson, said about 40 workers would be employed to install about 16,100 solar panels and two inverters at the site, which sits directly alongside the existing Mobilong-Murray Bridge South sub-transmission line.

“Now that we’re moving into the construction phase, our focus turns to engaging local businesses and employing tradespeople from the surrounding region wherever possible,” Pearson said.

Pearson said that Terregra Renewables intended to own and operate the project for its 30-year life, and so had focused on being a good neighbour and bringing positive benefits to the community “from the very start.”

“We consulted with the nearby landowners and specifically amended the site layout to address the feedback that we received,” he said.

“We have been overwhelmed by the support from the Rural City of Murray Bridge council and are pleased that we can now start work.”

The project is expected to be completed in April 2019.

In Indonesia, Terregra has this year been in the process of building four micro-hydro power plants with a total capacity of 39MW in North Sumatra, the Jakarta Post reports.

Terregra – which claims to be the only publicly listed independent power producer in south east Asia – has signed power purchase agreements (PPA) for those four facilities with state-electricity firm PLN for a period of 20 to 30 years.

Pearson says that by 2023, Terregra intends to develop, build and operate more than 500MW of hydro projects in Indonesia over the next five years, as it works to shift its core business from power plant service provider to renewable energy developer.

Also in Indonesia, Terregra Asia Energy Tbk has completed its first commercial solar project at the iconic Waterbom waterpark in Bali.

Pearson says that project will operate under a “business-to-business scheme” and is owned and operated by Terregra Asia Energy for its 20-year life.

“This is our first commercial solar project in Indonesia but we have many more in development,” he said.