Vena gets ready to double size of South Australia’s second solar farm

Vena Energy is getting ready to double the size of its Tailem Bend solar farm, which is one of two large scale solar farms operating in South Australia.

Spanish group Soltec says it has won a contract to to provide the tracking system for the 87MW second stage of Tailem Bend, which will add to the 95MW facility that was brought into operation in 2019.

Surprisingly, South Australia only has two large scale solar projects – accounting for just 4.6 per cent of the state’s generation last year – although it also sourced 16.9 per cent of its needs from rooftop solar, and a massive 43.9 per cent from wind.

However, the planned opening of a new transmission link to NSW, and the installation of more battery storage – both large scale and household – will improve the market for large scale solar farms in the state.

Several are planned – the Port Augusta Renewable Energy Park includes a 110MW solar farm as part of what will be the country’s biggest wind and solar hybrid when it opens later this year, although the planned 260MW Cultana solar farm planned by Sanjeev Gupta appears to have been put on hold.

Soltec says it will supply its 2-in-portrait SF7 trackers to Tailem Bend, and will be the largest contract it has won since establishing an office in Australia in 2017.

It says the project will cover around 200 hectares and be equipped with 2,436 SF7 solar trackers, with more than 18,000 piles and 219,240 modules.

Vena Energy was contacted for comment.