Iberdrola boosts renewable capacity with purchase of NSW solar project

Spanish energy giant Iberdrola has announced a significant expansion of its Australian renewables portfolio with the purchase of a 190MW solar project in New South Wales from RES.

Iberdola has agreed to buy the Avonlie solar project (190MW ac, or 245MW dc) located south of Narrandera,  in the state’s south west, with construction expected to begin early in the next month, and completion before the end of 2022.

Avonlie is the largest solar development brought to market by RES, which recently concluded the sale of the 180MW Dulacca wind project in Queensland to Octopus Energy after landing a power purchase agreement with CleanCo.

The purchase of Avonlie is Iberdrola’s first big expansion since it concluded the takeover of Infigen Energy in June, which has a portfolio based almost entirely around wind energy, and including the Lake Bonney big battery in South Australia.

Iberdrola has also recently installed the final turbine at the Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park in South Australia, which with 207MW of wind and 110MW of solar will be the largest hybrid wind and solar facility in Australia once fully commissioned.

It says the combined commitments to PAREP, Avonlie, and the Wallgrove grid battery in western Sydney (where Iberdrola has the off take agreement) amount to $1 billion of capital commitments, and about 600MW of “low-cost, reliable renewable energy capacity” to the National Electricity Market.

Iberdola Australia boss Ross Rolfe says there is clear interest in new renewable projects from corporate and industrial customers, echoing observations from other renewable energy developers.

“We are seeing a rapidly growing number of commercial and industrial customers adopting net zero targets and transitioning to one hundred per cent renewable electricity contracts,” Rolfe said.

“At Iberdrola Australia we invest not only in low-cost renewables, but also flexible, fast start firming capacity, ensuring the electricity system remains reliable as renewable penetration grows.

“This optimised portfolio enables us to provide our growing customer base with long-term electricity contracts that are at once reliable, affordable and clean.”

Avonlie has planning approval for a big battery, but it is not clear if Iberdrola plans to add storage at this stage. It would also not comment on whether a PPA had been obtained.

Matt Rebbeck, the CEO of RES in Australia, said the total capacity of projects brought to the market by the company to 1.21GW, either in construction or operational.

The Avonlie solar farm will create more than 230 full time local jobs during construction and provide significant regional benefits and deliver on our vision of a future where everyone has access to affordable zero carbon energy,” he said in a statement.

When operational, the solar farm will comprise 450,000 solar panels, mounted on single axis tracking system will generate electricity to meet the needs of around 80,000 New South Wales homes. This will avoid over 157,000 tonnes of carbon each year.   

The  project received planning consent from the NSW Department of Planning, Industry & Environment in August 2019.  Lumea will deliver the grid connection services for the life of the project.

See: Large Scale Solar Farm Map of Australia