UK solar and energy storage company, Luminous Energy, has announced the sale of its largest PV project located in Australia, the 203MW Columboola Solar Farm, to South Korea-based firm Hana Financial Investment.
Luminous Energy recently signed a power purchase agreement (PPA) with CS Energy, a Queensland Government-owned energy business.
Go deeper with GlobalData
The Columboola Solar Farm was developed with PwC Australia and it aims to support Queensland’s target of 50% renewable energy generation by 2030. The ten-year PPA with CS Energy is for 100% of the site’s output, 450GWh each year, and is one of Australia’s most substantial renewable energy contracts ever.
Luminous Energy CEO Jolyon Orchard said: “Australia is a major market in the global solar revolution and the country’s solar industry has huge potential. This project showcases how innovation can help secure an impactful and prestigious PPA, such as that with CS Energy, and interest from a world-class investor, such as Hana Financial Investment. It supports our vision to accelerate the growth of the global solar industry by generating low cost, reliable electricity while respecting the natural environment.”
The solar farm will be constructed near Miles in Queensland’s Western Downs and will power the equivalent of 100,000 homes, or approximately 6% of all homes in the state.
The solar farm will supply clean and affordable energy to Queenslanders, including a group of universities – Griffith University, Central Queensland University, and Queensland University of Technology – that are all CS Energy customers.
US Tariffs are shifting - will you react or anticipate?
Don’t let policy changes catch you off guard. Stay proactive with real-time data and expert analysis.
By GlobalDataThe project will also demonstrate how the latest solar technology innovations, such as high-power bifacial panels and single axis trackers that follow the sun, can significantly increase energy generation when compared to traditional designs.
It is also expected to create up to 400 new green jobs, supporting a recent call to generate one million clean energy jobs in Australia as part of the efforts to boost green energy recovery after the Covid-19 outbreak.
Construction of the project is expected to commence later in 2020.
