FRV buys 90MW Riverina solar farm, lands PPA with Snowy Hydro

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures has signed its second power purchase agreement with the federal government owned gen-tailer Snowy Hydro, this time for the output of the proposed 90MW Sebastopol Solar Farm, which is under development in the state’s Riverina Region.

FRV said on Wednesday that it had bought the construction-ready Sebastopol project from its original developers, the German-based company ib vogt, which has full planning consent, all land rights secured and grid ‘committed’ status with AEMO.

Located 16km south of Temora and around 440km south-west of Sydney, the solar farm will connect to the Essential Energy grid and generate enough power to supply more than 40,000 Australian households. FRV says it will create 150 jobs during construction.

The PPA with Snowy Hydro follows FRV’s successful bid for the 68.7MW Goonumbla Solar Farm as part of the Snowy Hydro Renewable Energy Procurement Program in 2018, and which is currently in the final stages of construction.

In a statement announcing the purchase of the solar farm and resulting PPA, the Abdul Latif Jameel-owned company said the new offtake deal was an extension of its commitment to renewables in Australia.

“After the successful experience of Goonumbla, we are pleased to continue working with Snowy Hydro on a second project contributing to the ongoing diversification of the electricity generation resources in NSW and Australia,” said FRV’s managing director of Australia, Carlo Frigerio.

“This project will be our seventh Australian solar farm and will consolidate our leading position in the Australian renewable energy market.”

Fady Jameel, the deputy president and vice chairman of Abdul Latif Jameel said the PPA marked a new milestone for FRV in Australia, at an important time in its shift to clean energy.

“Devastating Australian bushfires have started 2020 off with a stark reminder of the reality of global warming, and the urgent need to address climate change,” Jameel said.

“Together with our partners, FRV and Snowy Hydro, Abdul Latif Jameel is committed to playing an active role in developing clean energy solutions and ultimately contributing to create a more sustainable future for the world.”

Snowy Hydro CEO Paul Broad said the company was constantly on the lookout for renewable energy offtake opportunities across the eastern-states. to pair with its peaking generation assets.

“We have the capacity to support and ‘firm’ significant amounts of intermittent wind and solar,” Broad said. “Our flexible portfolio of fast-start assets allows us to supply our customers with 24/7 renewable energy, lowering prices and increasing energy security.”

For ib vogt, which kicked off operations in Australia in 2016 with the 11.1MW Williamsdale project in the ACT, Sebastopol is the company’s “most advanced” project in a development pipeline of more than 450MW of PV throughout NSW and Victoria.

The company said it had established a “strong and collaborative” relationship with both Temora Shire Council and Junee Shire Council and the local community, which was reflected in the lack of any formal objections to the Development Application of the Riverina project.

“The proposed Sebastopol Solar Farm is a world class solar PV project and highlights our expertise in successfully developing solar projects in a challenging solar market,” said ib Vogt chief commercial officer Carsten Stang.

“This is our first development project in our attractive Australian portfolio and we look forward to progressing our next projects to a similar stage shortly.”