Elecnor completes the construction of its first solar PV plant in Australia

Madrid, 8 April 2016.- Elecnor has successfully completed its first solar photovoltaic farm in Australia, built for FRV.

This 70 MW complex is located in  Moree in the Australian state of New South Wales. Made up of 223,960 panels covering  191 hectares, it has an annual output of 145,000 MWh, equivalent to the electricity consumed by roughly 24,000 households, and prevents the emission of around 95,000 tonnes of CO2 each year.

The purpose of the Solar farm is to produce clean renewable energy for at least the next 25 years and to help develop knowledge about the construction of large scale solar farms in Australia. The project was funded by FRV with the support of the Australian government through a grant of AUD$101.7 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and debt on commercial terms from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC)

It is the largest solar project with a horizontal single-axis tracking system in Australia and Elecnor's first major contract in the region following the establishment of its subsidiary in Melbourne specialising in the development of infrastructure and renewable energy businesses in the country.

Presence in Australia

At the end of 2015, Elecnor ramped up its activity in Australia with the development as investor and constructor of another solar PV farm valued in AUD 69 million (around EUR 47.3 million). 

This is a 25 MW facility that is being built in Barcaldine in the state of Queensland. The farm will occupy a 90-hectare site and its 79,000 photovoltaic panels will generate an estimated annual output of 56,000 MWh, sufficient to satisfy the consumption requirements of some 5,300 households.

This project marks a further step forward in Elecnor's international expansion in the Asia-Pacific region with Australia as the hub of its activity.