Gransolar takes bigger bite of solar EPC market with two new projects

Spanish solar plant construction firm Gransolar Group will take the lead role in building two solar projects in Australia for Lightsource bp over the next two years, with combined installed capacity of 515 MW.

GRS has reached agreements with Lightsource bp – 50 percent owned by oil giant BP – to act as engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor to develop the Wellington North and Wunghu solar plants.

Wellington North, near Dubbo in New South Wales, will be one of the largest photovoltaic projects built to date in Australia, with installed capacity of 425 MW, according to GRS.

Wunghnu, in Victoria’s Golburn Valley, is being designed with an installed capacity of 90 MW.

Both projects will take about two years to build and mark the first time GRS and Lightsource bp –the largest owner of photovoltaic assets in Australia, with a total of 841 MW — will work together on renewable energy projects in Australia.

GRS said it was hopeful the projects will lay the groundwork for further collaborations between the two companies.

For Wellington North, GRS says 755,552 photovoltaic modules, spread over 847 hectares will produce clean energy equivalent to the consumption of more than 152,500 households.

Wunghnu will consist of 160,048 modules on 222 hectares, enough to power 27,152 homes, according to GRS.

Lightsource has already reached power purchase agreements (PPAs) with Engie, Orica and Mars Australia covering both projects.

With Wellington North and Wunghu, Lightsource bp now has five projects operating or under construction across New South Wales, Queensland, and Victoria

Lightsource bp’s 107 MW (DC) West Wyalong project in NSW, and 214 MWp Woolooga Solar Farm in Queensland are due for completion by the end of the year. The company’s 200 MWp Wellington solar farm in NSW is already operational

Lightsource bp’s Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand Adam Pegg has hinted the company was eyeing more large scale solar projects in Australia.

The hybridisation of renewables to complement solar – including battery storage, co-location of wind and integration with green hydrogen production – would become increasingly important to the future energy mix and in driving the energy transition, Pegg said in August, adding a further 3 GWp was planned for Australia and New Zealand.

For its part, GRS has become the major player in photovoltaic EPC projects, with a pipeline of more than 1.5 GWdc in a total of 12 projects.

EPC contracts between parties places responsibility on a single provider to oversee design and construction.

Some publicly-listed contractors avoid taking on full EPC contracts, focusing instead on less risky “balance of plant” contracts.