The New England Solar Farm is a 720 megawatt (MW) energy generation project proposed by ACEN Australia (formerly named UPC Renewables Australia). It is to be located six kilometres east of Uralla, in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, within the New England REZ.
The project is being developed in two stages:
- Stage One will deliver 400 MW of generation capacity.
- Stage Two will deliver 320 MW of generation capacity and 200 MW / 400 MWh of storage.
An additional 1,400 MW / 2,800 MWh of storage capacity has been approved as part of the project, likely to be constructed post completion of Stage One and Two.
The project will connect to TransGrid’s existing 330-kilovolt transmission line that runs across the development site.
Key Dates
| Sep 2020 | Contract Award for Stage One |
| Feb 2021 | Financial Close |
| Mar 2021 | Construction Commencement |
| Mar 2023 | Construction Completion: Stage One |
| Feb 2025 | Construction Commencement: Stage Two |
| Jun 2025 | Expected Construction Completion: Stage Two |
Financing
| Debt Finance: | Syndicate |
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Financing for the project is being provided by the Bank of China, Commonwealth Bank of Australia and Westpac. |
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Procurement
| Successful Tenderer: | Stage One: Elecnor Australia. The project is being built by Green Light Contractors, a subsidiary of Elecnor Australia. Battery Energy Storage System: Energy Vault |
| Related contracts: |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Apr 2018 | UPC Renewables submitted a Scoping Report to the NSW Government requesting the Secretary's Environmental Assessment Requirements (SEARs) for the project. |
| May 2018 | The NSW Government issued the SEARs for the project. |
| Feb 2019 | The Environmental Impact Statement for the project was published. |
| Dec 2019 | The NSW Government approved the development proposal. |
| Mar 2020 | After the application was referred to the Independent Planning Commission (IPC) for determination due to 67 public objections being received during exhibition, the State Significant Development application was approved and granted Development Consent. |
| Mar 2020 | Development Consent issued. |
| Aug 2020 | The NSW Government announced the project would receive grant funding through the Government's Emerging Energy program, under the capital projects stream. |
| Sep 2020 | Elecnor Australia was awarded a $500 million contract to construct Stage One of the project. The project is being built by Green Light Contractors, a subsidiary of Elecnor Australia. |
| Feb 2021 | Stage One reached financial close. |
| Mar 2021 | Construction on Stage One of the project commenced. |
| Oct 2022 | The project proponent released a modification (MOD2) to consent report. The modification seeks to include an additional 127ha for the project's land area (in addition to the original 426ha proposed), and increase the battery storage from 200 MW/400MWh to 1,400MW/2,800MWh. |
| Nov 2022 | The NSW Department of Planning and Environment placed the proponent's modification application for the State Significant Development on public exhibition, closing on the 17 November. |
| Dec 2022 | New England Solar project been granted formal registration to send power into the National Electricity Market (NEM) by the Australian Energy Market Organisation (AEMO). |
| Mar 2023 | Construction completed on Stage One of the project. |
| May 2023 | The project was awarded a new generation Long-Term Energy Service Agreement by AEMO Services under the inaugural tender round for new generation and long-duration storage electricity infrastructure in New South Wales. |
| May 2023 | The NSW Government approved a modification application to increase battery energy storage capacity from 200 megawatts (MW) / 400 megawatt hours (MWh) to 1400MW / 2800MWh for the project. |
| Feb 2025 | ACEN announced that construction commenced on the battery energy storage system which includes an expanded switching yard to connect the battery and the second stage of the solar project to Transgrid's transmission network. The battery is being delivered by Energy Vault and the switching yard by Lumea. |
| Apr 2025 | ACEN Australia announced the completion of a A$750 million portfolio debt financing of its renewable energy portfolio, including Stage One of the 720-megawatt (MW) New England Solar Farm, and the 400-MW Stubbo Solar Farm. The financing was completed through a syndicate of 11 banks including MUFG, ANZ, SMBC, Westpac, Cathay United Bank, Commonwealth Bank, CTBC Bank, DBS Bank, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, and UOB. Herbert Smith Freehills was legal adviser for the lenders, with Allens advising ACEN Australia. |
Estimated Total Cost
(2022)
Sector
Energy
Procurement approach
Traditional Procurement |
Location
New South Wales |
Resources
Government resources
Request for SEARs - Project ProposalNSW Government Update - August 2020
NSW Planning Portal: MOD 2
NSW Planning Portal
SEARs
Development Consent
