Australian renewable energy developer Edify Energy has submitted plans for a 300MWac solar-plus-storage project in Victoria under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation (EPBC) Act.
The proposed Nowingi Solar Power Station would be located 47km south of Mildura, near the New South Wales border. The project comprises a 300MWac solar PV plant and a BESS of up to 300MW/2,400MWh, with an 8-hour discharge duration.
Spanning 637 hectares in a farming zone managed by the Mildura Rural City Council, the site is currently used for agricultural purposes. Edify aims to maintain this usage through agrivoltaics – also used in its Peninsula (80MW) and Muskerry (250MW) solar projects in Victoria.
According to EPBC documents, the project will connect to the National Electricity Market via an existing 220kV transmission line owned by Ausnet, running between Red Cliffs and Horsham.
Construction is expected to take around 18 months, employing about 250 people at its peak, with five full-time roles once operational.
In Queensland, Zen Energy has secured EPBC Act approval for a 100MW solar-plus-storage project in partnership with Taiwan’s HD Renewable Energy under the ZEBRE joint venture.
The co-located BESS will be a 200MW system with a duration of 4–8 hours (800–1,600MWh). The project will be developed on 267 hectares of mostly cleared land near Woolooga in the Gympie Region.
“This was made possible because the 267-hectare project site was designed so its environmental impacts were minimised,” said Environment Minister Murray Watt.
“It will be located on predominantly cleared land… demonstrating once again that there’s ways for renewables and agriculture to work together.”
[Image credit: Edify Energy]
