South Australia to host another large scale solar farm to power glass manufacturer

The $50 million project has already begun construction and is expected to begin operations in late 2023, and will supply power to Orora Ltd and its glass manufacturing facility in Gawler.

“Mannum receives consistent sunlight in a strong region of the grid presenting a significant opportunity to generate solar power to meet the growing needs of industrial customers as they transition to renewables,” Epic Energy CEO Clive D’Cruz said in a statement.

“Orora will be the foundational customer for Mannum Solar Farm’s second stage under a longterm agreement to help meet the energy and sustainability requirements of its Gawler glass manufacturing facility.”

Orora CEO Brian Lowe says the solar farm contract will help the company achieve a 40 per cent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions for Scope 1 and 2 by 2035, and is seeking to add both wind and solar energy sources to its mix.

“We are also committed to driving energy efficiency in our operations,” Lowe said. “We were one of the first companies in Australia to underwrite renewable assets through long term power purchase agreements, which have enabled renewable assets to be funded and developed.

The Mannum stage two project will use bifacial solar panels, Sungrow inverters and a single-axis tracking system. Construction and the first two years of operations and maintenance will be managed by Enzen Australia.

Epic Energy, which also operates a gas pipeline network in the state, and supplies gas to the Orara facility, bought the first stage of Mannum in late 2020, and the second stage in August this year, both from the original developer Canadian Solar.

Epic says the companies are looking at adding a battery energy storage system as well, and Epic is also looking to boost its wind portfolio beyond its existing Timboon West and Yaweong wind farms, with another 120MW pipeline to be developed in Victoria.

See RenewEconomy’s Large Scale Solar Farm Map of Australia