Another Huge Renewable Energy Park Proposed For South Australia

Image: seagul

Further details of a proposed $1 billion wind, solar and battery storage project for South Australia’s Mid-North will be revealed today.

The Adelaide Advertiser reports (paywall) French company Neoen will announce “Goyder South”, which is to be constructed in the Burra region. The Advertiser states the total project involves 1200MW of wind power, 600MW of solar energy capacity and 900MW of battery storage. The first stage will be one-third the capacity of each, with subsequent stages dependent on Project EnergyConnect being completed – the interconnector between Robertstown in South Australia and Wagga Wagga in New South Wales.

Plans are yet to be lodged with the State Commission Assessment Panel for Goyder South as Neoen will be seeking community feedback first.

Such a project could provide a much-needed cash injection and jobs boost for the area, which has been in the grip of a particularly nasty drought for quite some time. Back in June, a farmer at World’s End (near Burra) was at the point he was having to feed dumped onions to his stock as the price of conventional feed was too high.

Goyder Region’s Large-Scale Solar Rush

In terms of solar power, the Regional Council of Goyder local government area is currently home to around just 3.2MW of solar energy capacity¹, with all of that consisting of systems under 100kW. But there is plenty of large-scale solar on the way for the region, particularly around Robertstown; with projects including Robertstown Solar, Solar River and an SA Water PV rollout.

Green Light For Neoen’s Crystal Brook Energy Park

Neoen recently had a big win elsewhere in South Australia with planning approval granted for its proposed Crystal Brook Energy Park project, which is to be built at a site around 23 kilometres southeast of Port Pirie and 3 kilometres north of Crystal Brook.

Crystal Brook Energy Park will boast up to 125MW of wind turbines, up to 150MW of solar PV capacity and up to 130MW/400MWh of lithium-ion battery storage. The project may also incorporate a hydrogen production facility at Port Pirie capable of producing up to 25 tonnes a day, pending the outcome of a feasibility study.

Neoen has been on the Australian renewable energy scene since 2012 and currently has 1GW of  projects in the country either operating or under construction. Among Neoen’s other assets in South Australia is Hornsdale Power Reserve, aka the “Tesla Big Battery” (100MW/129MWh), and Hornsdale Wind Farm (315MW) situated near Jamestown.