Conergy is about to start building what it says will be Australia´s first grid-connected solar and storage project in northern Queensland.
Construction at the $42.5m Lakeland project will kick off next week near the town of Lakeland, the German developer said.
The plant will consist of a 13MW photovoltaic plant and a 1.4MW Conergy battery system that will allow for a consistent power supply even when cloudy.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) has provided $17.4m in funding support for the project and German bank Nord/LB a 15-year non-recourse loan.
Conergy, the project owner, expects to complete the facility by next April.
“Utility-scale solar and storage, combined with effective management software, is the Holy Grail of the global renewable energy industry, and with this project we are well within reach of it,” Conergy managing director David McCallum said.
“This is an exciting opportunity to combine the latest developments in solar technology with utility-scale battery storage to feed consistent, quality power into the existing electricity grid.”
Image: Conergy
Conergy to kick-start Oz hybrid
$42.5m Lakeland grid-connected solar, storage project to open in April
By EBS