More Solar For Northern Territory Airports

Image: Northern Territory Airports

Several solar farms and an off-site battery storage system will be built in the NT with the assistance of funding provided to Northern Territory Airports Pty Ltd.

The funding comes in the form of a loan from the Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility (NAIF). The $150 million infrastructure investment package includes a cold storage and export hub at Darwin International Airport and various upgrades to Alice Springs Airport. Solar farms will also be established at Darwin, Tennant Creek and Alice Springs airports, along with an “off-site multi-user battery” at a location not yet specified.

“We are very pleased to promote the significant public benefit that will be delivered for the Northern Territory through this project,” stated NAIF CEO Laurie Walker, who also said this would be NAIF’s largest investment to date.

The PV installation at Darwin International Airport won’t be its first. In late 2016, DIA flicked the switch on a 4MW installation comprised of 15,000 solar panels, which was at that point in time the largest airside solar project in the world. A second stage was subsequently installed, totaling 1.5MW.

According to Airport Development Group¹  CEO Ian Kew, the company is considering building a 40-megawatt solar farm at Darwin.

Alice Springs Airport is no stranger to solar power either, with around 800kW capacity already in place and a 10MW facility in the pipeline according to an ABC report.

These solar projects will help the Territory towards its goal of 50% renewable energy by 2030, something we’ve heard little about since the NT Government developed a passion for fracking.

About The Northern Australia Infrastructure Facility

The NAIF is offering up to $5 billion over five years in concessional finance to support private sector investment in infrastructure that benefits northern Australia.

Back in May, we reported on the first NAIF loan recipient in the Northern Territory, Humpty Doo Barramundi Farm. The loan it received will help bankroll a major expansion, including solar energy to assist in powering its operations.

A company that hasn’t been so lucky in scoring an NAIF loan is Adani. One of the first actions of Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk was to knock the cap out of Adani’s hand, which it was hoping to fill with a $1 billion concessional loan for its Northern Galilee Basin Rail Project.

NAIF loans can be denied if the jurisdiction in which the project is to operate provides written notification that financial assistance should not be provided.