“Fully funded, fully contracted:” Construction team ready to go on state’s largest solar-battery hybrid

Perth based clean energy developer Frontier Energy says it has secured all major contracts to start work later this month on the first stage of what will be the largest solar and battery hybrid on Western Australia’s main grid.

The Waroona Renewable Energy Project, which has giga-scale ambitions over the long term, will in its first stage co-locate a 132 megawatt (MW) solar farm with a 6.9-hour 81.5 MW battery.

The hybrid project, which will be built around 120 kilometres south of Perth, is designed to generate solar energy during the day and dispatch stored electricity into the grid during the evening peak.

Frontier Energy announced in July that it had locked in a complete funding package to finance the project, securing credit-approved commitments for project finance debt facilities of up to approximately $A280 million, including a construction facility of up to approximately $250 million.

Having evolved through several configurations during its development, the Waroona Renewable Energy Project has already secured both state and federal approvals.

The project also has an underwriting agreement under the federal government’s Capacity Investment Scheme, which acts as a “top up” should its other sales revenue fall below certain levels. The sum is not quantified, but if it is included in “other” in the graph above, then it is not significant.

The company followed up this week with the announcement that it had subsequently executed all major contracts for development.

Fixed-price contracts were secured for all major equipment and EPC works, including tier-one global suppliers such as Longi, which will supply solar panels, Trina Storage, who will supply battery storage systems, Nextpower, supplying solar tracker systems, and SMA Australia, which will provide the solar inverters.

EPC contracts have also been signed with Monford Group, and Western Power connection is now unconditional, enabling the export of up to 99 MW and import of up to 95 MW.

“This is a defining milestone for Frontier,” said Jamie Cullen, Frontier Energy executive chairman.

“We have now secured the full suite of contracts required to deliver Stage One at our Waroona Project and position the company as Western Australia’s largest solar-BESS hybrid power producer.

“The state needs new generation to support the targeted retirement of ageing fossil fuel plants while meeting rising demand from data centres and population growth,” Cullen said. “Stage One is our first step in delivering exactly that.”

Frontier says the longer-term plan is to add a second, third and fourth stage, taking the total project to around 1,000 MW and up to 660 MW of battery capacity.

“With only 300 of our 830 hectares of grid-adjacent freehold land committed to Stage One, the team is already advancing Stage Two,” Cullen said on Tuesday. “We are fully funded, fully contracted and ready to build.”

If you would like to join more than 29,000 others and get the latest clean energy news delivered straight to your inbox, for free, please click here to subscribe to our free daily newsletter.