Energy retailer signs deal to take quarter of output from biggest solar farm in NSW

Electricity retailer SmartestEnergy Australia has signed a long term power purchase agreement to take around one quarter of the output of the 333MW (dc) Darlington Point solar farm, the biggest operating solar project in NSW,

SmartestEnergy, which specialises in the business market, signed the offtake deal with Octopus Australia, the new owner of the solar farm, which at 275MW (ac) had been the biggest in the country before it was overtaken late last year by the nearly complete 400MW (ac) Western Downs solar project in Queensland.

The Darlington Point solar project was formerly owned by Edify Energy, and was commissioned in 2020, and became the first purchase of the Australian arm of European energy investor Octopus when it launched a $10 billion fund last year.

Half of the output of the Darlington Point solar farm is being supplied to Delta Energy, the owner of the Vales Point coal power plant, and which was recently sold by coal baron Trevor St Baker to little-known Czech company Sev.en Global Investments.

Edify retained an equity stake in Darlington Point before selling up in 2022.

Edify is also building a series of battery projects that make up a total 150MW/300MWh (two-hour) Tesla Magapack-based Riverina Battery Energy Storage System nearby, contracting part of the offtake to Shell and part to EnergyAustralia.