NBN signs six year off-take deal with Macarthur wind farm

NBN Co has signed a six year offtake agreement for around 10 per cent of the output of the 420 MW Macarthur wind farm, its second renewable off take deal this year as it moves towards a 100 per cent renewable power supply.

The internet infrastructure company has a goal of sourcing the equivalent of all of its power from renewable sources by the end of 2025, and has moved to off take agreements after setting up small scale solar and wind units throughout its network.

The power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Macarthur wind farm, once the biggest in Victoria and now operated by AGL, amounts to 90 gigawatt hours (GWh) a year.

AGL COO Markus Brokhof says this is another example of how AGL is helping Australian businesses to move to renewable energy and the contract also supports the ongoing operation of the wind farm, which has produced 910,000 MWh of power annually over the last decade.

NBN’s first PPA started in September, a 10-year deal to also take 90 GWh of power from the newly-operational 75 MW Wyalong solar farm in the Riverina in New South Wales, although that amounts to nearly two thirds of that facility’s output. 

“The NBN network is a significant consumer of electricity, so we will continue to explore the use of renewable energy sources and innovative solutions to drive down our emissions and operating costs,” said NBN Co CEO Stephen Rue in a statement. 

Despite its early energy target, the network company still has 2050 as the target date to achieve net zero emissions.

NBN Co has been investigating and installing in-house renewables for almost a decade, putting in 1.75 MW of solar across its network in 2016 and trialling ideas such as micro wind turbines at remote sites to extend the life of temporary battery-solar-diesel generator power supply during emergency situations, such as floods or fires.