Octopus Australia has started construction at the A$900m ($639m) Blind Creek Solar Farm and Battery project in Bungendore, New South Wales (NSW), with NSW Premier Chris Minns attending the groundbreaking ceremony.
The development combines 300MW of solar generation with a 243MW, 486 megawatt-hour battery system.
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The facility is designed to supply electricity to the grid by storing energy produced during daylight hours for use when there is peak demand in the evening.
It will connect to the main transmission line between Sydney and Canberra via a new substation.
The project is expected to create up to 300 full-time equivalent jobs during its peak construction period, with around half of these positions intended for workers from Bungendore and the Monaro region.
Construction is under way under the direction of engineering, procurement and construction contractor GRS, while Wärtsilä Energy Storage will provide the battery component.
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By GlobalDataThe facility is expected to become completely operational in 2028.
Australian superannuation funds Hostplus and Rest, along with the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Westpac Private Bank and Dutch pension fund APG, provided investment.
These investors are supporting Octopus Australia’s project as part of broader efforts to enhance energy infrastructure in NSW.
Minns said: “This is the kind of project NSW needs as we replace aging energy infrastructure. We need to keep the lights on, keep costs as low as possible and to keep regional communities with us along the way.
“The Blind Creek project is creating local jobs, and it will help deliver the replacement energy that households and businesses rely on.”
The Blind Creek initiative was developed in collaboration with local sheep farmers, who sought to maintain agricultural activities alongside solar energy production.
Design features allow continued grazing operations on land that has supported animal production for 155 years.
Octopus Australia CEO Sam Reynolds said: “This project shows what happens when global capital, Australian super and regional farming families align under stable government policy. You get real infrastructure, real clean electricity and real jobs.”
