Final Approvals For South Australia’s Bungala Solar Project

Bungala Solar Project | Image: Reach Energy

Enel Green Power has reportedly received final approvals for a major solar farm under construction near the South Australian city of Port Augusta.

News.com.au reports the Bungala Solar Project will see 860,000 solar panels installed in two phases. Up to 200 jobs will be created during construction.

Enel and its partner Dutch Infrastructure Fund (DIF) closed an agreement to acquire Bungala Solar One from Bungala Solar Holding Pty Ltd., a subsidiary of Reach Solar Energy, in April this year. The purchase of Bungala Solar Two by Enel and DIF reached financial close in July.

The 220MWac (2 x 110MWac) facility is expected to commence operations in 2019. Origin Energy will be purchasing all the electricity produced by Bungala Solar One and Two.

Bungala Solar marks Enel’s first project in Australia, a country it says is of great interest to the company given the nation’s abundance of wind and solar energy resources and a growing demand for renewables.

According to Reach Energy, the Bungala Solar Project will ultimately grow to 300MWac capacity, producing enough electricity from nearly 1.2 million solar panels for around 130,000 homes. Reach Energy says offtake negotiations are continuing for the balance 80MWac site.

Port Augusta has been facing its share of challenges, but the future is looking brighter thanks to renewables. The region will also be the site of a 150MW solar thermal power plant; construction of which is expected to commence next year. Port Augusta is the perfect location for solar energy projects given its average of 300 days of sunshine a year.

Small-scale solar power systems have also made their mark in the city, with more than 1,600 installed in the 5700 postcode to date; representing a collective capacity of approximately 6.8 megawatts.

In other recent renewables-related news out of South Australia, Tesla recently stated it had installed half of the capacity associated with the world’s largest lithium-ion battery system (100MW/129MWh), under construction near Jamestown in the state’s Mid-North.

Last week, Electranet announced Adelaide company Consolidated Power Projects (CPP) will construct a 30 MW large-scale battery at Electranet’s Dalrymple substation on South Australia’s Yorke Peninsula. The facility will support the 90 MW Wattle Point Wind Farm and rooftop solar PV, provide frequency response services and back-up power in the event of a blackout.