ACEN Australia Green Lights Stubbo Solar Project

Renewables developer ACEN Australia has executed key contracts and announced that a final investment decision on the 400 MW (520 MWdc) Stubbo Solar project has been made, allowing the project to fully proceed.

This follows on from the signing of the connection agreement with Lumea and execution of a PV module supply contract this week, and the commitment of AU$800 million by parent company ACEN Corporation towards the construction of the Stubbo Solar project announced last September.

The 400 MW (520MWdc) solar project is located within the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone in the Mid-Western Regional Council region and will connect to the existing 330 kV network between Wollar and Wellington.

The project will produce enough clean, renewable energy to power more than 185,000 average Australian homes. The project’s development approval also includes provisions for a 200 MWh battery energy storage system, allowing for the project to later on be adapted to dispatch energy when it is most needed during peak hours and provide important grid stability services.

Stubbo Solar was granted development consent in June 2021 by the NSW Government’s Department of Planning and Environment. With construction due to commence in late 2022, Stubbo Solar is expected to create up to 400 jobs during construction and up to 10 ongoing jobs, generating many contracting opportunities for local businesses.

Anton Rohner, CEO of ACEN Australia said the announcement follows the success of securing AU$75 million of debt funding from Australia's Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) last week, which increased ACEN Australia’s aggregate debt facilities to AU$315 million of long-term, green loan agreements with Japanese lender MUFG, DBS Bank of Singapore, and most recently the CEFC.

ACEN Australia has more than 1.5 GW of projects under construction or at an advanced stage of development, including the New England Solar, New England Battery, Stubbo Solar and Valley of the Winds projects in the NSW New England and Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zones, as well as the Robbins Island and Jim’s Plain Wind project in North-West Tasmania.

#Solar