Developer kills plans for 70MW solar farm in coal heartland

The Australian arm of Thai renewables developer Ratch has pulled out of the 70 megawatt (MW) Morwell Solar Farm, leaving owner ARP to find a new use for the land. 

Ratch Australia had a joint development agreement with the UK developer but decided not to proceed with an option to acquire the project, general manager of project development Neil Weston told RenewEconomy.

Weston said the decision was a commercial one.

“We have a portfolio of project opportunities. We deploy our capital according to how we see what works best for the business. The [Morwell Solar] opportunity didn’t fit within that,” he said.

“With any project we look at all the factors involved… so that’s as much as I can say.”

The Morwell Solar Farm site is directly next to the Ausnet transmission station that once handled generation from the Hazelwood coal power station.

The proposed location of the Morwell solar farm, in close proximity with network infrastructure built for the regions coal generators. (Supplied by Ratch Australia).

Although the LaTrobe Valley area has significant unused transmission capacity following the closure of the power plant, it is a notoriously difficult location in which to push projects through planning processes and community consultation. 

ARP has been trying to rally support for the Morwell Solar Farm since at least 2018, when it opened its plans to the public.

The 200 MW Delburn Wind Farm has been grinding through council, state and court processes since 2019, and expects to only start construction next year.

And South Energy submitted a planning application for the 75 MW Frasers Solar Farm in 2019 with a plan to be fully operational in 2022, but that date is now anticipated for mid-2024.

The original plan for the Morwell Solar Farm was for construction to start in August-September in 2022, after Ratch Australia secured a planning permit from the Victorian Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning.

In February 2022, the Morwell site still needed a connection agreement. 

ARP declined to comment on the failed deal.

In response to questions over whether Ausnet was putting in a connection the Morwell solar farm, or negotiating to put a transmission line through the land, a spokesperson said there was no extra information to provide as the project was in the early stages. 

Ratch Australia is now focused on its other development projects including the 152 MW (ac) Marulan Solar Farm and big battery project in New South Wales, and the 800 MW Springlands Wind Farm in Queensland.