Enel Green Power lands finance for first solar and battery hybrid project

Enel Green Power Australia has announced that it has secured project financing for a $190 million solar and battery hybrid project it plans to build in western NSW.

The Quorn Park hybrid project will combine a 98 MW (dc) solar farm with a 20 MW, 40 MWh battery that will be built around 10kms north west of Parkes. Construction will commence within the next few months and it will be operational in 2026.

The new hybrid is one of the first to be announced since new rules were introduced that allow wind or solar farms to be truly “paired” with a battery storage facility, rather than operating and dispatching as separate units. This may impose some restrictions on operations, but can save on connection and other costs.

The Quorn project will be jointly financed by Enel Green Power Australia’s owners – Italy’s Enel Green Power and Japanese oil and gas giant Inpex Corporation – along with debt facilities provided by Westpac and Bank of China.

Enel Green Power already operates a number of projects in Australia, including the Bungala solar farm in South Australia, the Cohuna solar farm in Victoria and the Flat Rocks wind project in Western Australia. It is also building the Girgarre solar farm in Victoria and has bought rights to a battery project next to the Bungala facilities.

Quorn is its first project in NSW and the company says it plans to roll out a “significant” portfolio of solar, wind and battery projects across the country.

“Achieving financing commitment for Quorn Park represents an important milestone for the company, following the transition to a new joint venture structure less than 12 months ago,” CEO Werther Esposito said in a statement.

“This is the first of many investment decisions that will be made over the coming years as our joint venture company accelerates the build out of our significant portfolio of wind, solar, storage and hybrid projects under development across Australia.” 

“This also marks our first project to commence construction in New South Wales. We look forward to facilitating further investment in NSW and across other states as we target a significant increase to our installed capacity alongside an expansion of activities within our retail and trading operations.”

The battery supplier is BYD, while the solar module supplier is Longi.

See also Renew Economy’s Big Battery Storage Map of Australia.