The New England Solar Farm is a proposed solar farm located six kilometres east of Uralla, in the Northern Tablelands region of New South Wales, to be developed by UPC Renewables. The project comprises more than 2.4 million solar panels, 150 power conversion units and a lithium-ion battery storage facility. This would be connected to TransGrid's existing 330-kilovolt transmission line that runs across the development site. The project is expected to have a generation capacity of 720 megawatts, which would be capable of providing around 1.8 million megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity each year.
The project is being completed in two stages. Stage One will cost $500 million and include the first 400 MW of capacity, the 33/330 kilovolt (kV) substation and a 50 MWh Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).
Stage Two will involve the installation of the remaining 320 megawatts of generation capacity and 350 megawatt hours of battery storage.
Key Dates
| Sep 2020 | Contract Award for Stage One |
| Feb 2021 | Financial Close |
| Mar 2021 | Construction Commencement |
| 2023 | Expected Construction Completion of Stage One |
| 2024 | Expected Construction Completion of 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. |
PROJECT HISTORY
| Dec 2019 | The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment 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. |
| Aug 2020 | The NSW Government announced the project will 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 the project commenced. |
