The surge of solar-battery hybrid projects in Australia continues, with a new project combining 370 megawatts (MW) of solar and a 335 MW/670 megawatt-hour battery seeking federal environmental approval.
Spanish project developer Grupo Cobra is seeking to develop the Strontian Solar Farm near Narrandera in the south-west of NSW and has submitted the proposal to the federal government’s department of climate change, energy, the environment, and water (DCCEEW) for assessment under the EPBC Act.
The project will be built on approximately 670 hectares, with some 654,000 solar panels to be installed in rows on land that is currently used for cropping, but which will continue to be used for agricultural purposes by providing grazing land for sheep once the panels are installed.
The solar panels will be mounted on trackers at a maximum height from the ground of 2.8-metres. The final number of battery containers will be confirmed at a later date.
The existing 330kV transmission line running from Wagga to Darlington Point runs across the project site, necessitating only an on-site electric substation and connection.
Grupo Cobra, through its sustainable energy development division Zero-E, expects the project to operate for approximately 30 years, with construction estimated to take between 18 to 24 months. Up to 200 jobs will be created during peak construction, and 4 to 5 jobs during the project’s operational lifespan.
Cobra is part of a consortium with Acciona and Endeavour Energy awarded the contract to build the new transmission lines and other infrastructure in the Central West Orana renewable energy zone.
In Australia, the company’s Zero-E subsidiary is also developing the he Moranbah Solar Farm and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) in Queensland (200 MW PV and 50 MW / 100 MWh BESS) and the Mid-West Solar and BESS project in Cowra in partnership with New Energy Development.
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