Neoen gets transmission go-ahead for first stage of country’s biggest renewable zone

Neoen has won approval from South Australian energy bureaucrats for a 33km long transmission line it must build to get power from what will be the country’s biggest renewable energy zone.

Months after signing a deal to initially connect 209 megawatt (MW) of the first 412 MW wind stage of the Goyder South project, the state’s Essential Services Commission exempted Neoen from holding a licence for the transmission line.

Normally companies building transmission lines need to get a licence to operate, but the rule does not apply to Neoen  because its 33km, 275kV transmission line will be used solely to connect the separate wind generation facilities to ElectraNet’s Robertstown substation and not send power to customers.

The company expects to sign a deal to cover the rest of the planned capacity of the wind farm soon.

Neoen locked in financing for the initial 209 MW stages last month, with long term power purchase agreements with the ACT government, BHP for its Olympic Dam mine, and Flow Power, equity from Neoen, and debt from ANZ, HSBC, Mizuho, Societe Generale, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Westpac bankrolling the development.

Straddling the infamous Goyder’s Line, an east-west ‘line’ that marks the cut-off for certain types of agriculture because of a sudden drop in rainfall, the Goyder renewable energy zone near Burra in South Australia has been split into north and south sections.

The south stage consists of the initial 412 MW development and a third stage which will see up to 1200 MW of wind, 600 MW of solar and up 900 MW/1,800 MWh of battery storage connected to the grid.

The north stage is still in the planning process.

Neoen is becoming known for regularly claiming the ‘Australia’s biggest’ title in the renewables sector.

It has an operational portfolio that totals 1.46 gigawatts (GW) which includes the Hornsdale big battery and the 400 MWac Western Downs solar farm in Queensland, the Victoria big battery, and a host of other wind, solar and battery projects in operation or under construction.