Italian energy giant completes construction of its newest solar farm in Victoria

Italian energy company Enel Green Power says it has completed construction of the 93MW Girgarre solar project, located about 50km west of Shepparton in northern Victoria, and is beginning the commissioning process.

Enel Green Power announced the installation of the final solar panel on their LinkedIn page, with approximately 169,500 solar panels installed across the 250-hectare site located in the Shire of Campaspe, approximately 10km north-west of Stanhope and approximately 50km west of Shepparton.

Construction began in September of 2023 with the turning of the “first sod”. The $A140 million solar farm was constructed by Victorian based EPC contractor Beon and is currently scheduled to begin operations in early 2025.

It is the company’s fourth completed solar project in Australia, following the first two stages of the Bungala solar farm in South Australia, which together make 220 MW and still the largest solar facility in the state, and the smaller 34 MW Cohuna solar farm in Victoria.

Enel has also branched out into wind energy, buying the Flat Rock wind project in Western Australia, and recently signed a contract to purchase stage three of the Bungala project which has connection approvals for a big battery project.

Once operational, the Girgarre Solar Farm is expected to generate electricity equivalent to the power needs of around 43,000 homes.

Electricity generated by Girgarre Solar Farm has already been secured through a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Japanese-owned electricity retailer SmartestEnergy. The PPA was signed in late 2023 and will see the electricity made available to commercial and industrial businesses around the country.