Unidentified European buyer snaps up Australian solar and battery project

Recurrent Energy, the renewable energy developer arm of solar manufacturer Canadian Solar, revealed it has completed the sale of the Gunning Energy Park in southern New South Wales (NSW) to an unnamed “European infrastructure and investment group” for an undisclosed sum.

Gunning Energy Park combines a 250 MW solar farm with a 120 MW battery energy storage system with a four-hour dispatch capacity. The estimated $421 million (AUD 651 million) project is proposed for a 676-hectare site near Gunning, about 245 kilometres southwest of Sydney. The hybrid project, that would connect to the national electricity grid via Transgrid’s nearby 330 kV transmission line, already has state government planning approval.

Recurrent Energy Chief Executive Officer Ismael Guerrero said the sale of the project reinforces the company’s reputation as a leading renewable energy developer in Australia, where it has been operating for more than a decade.

“This milestone builds on our continued success in the country, highlights our ability to develop innovative, large-scale renewable energy projects, and marks an important step in advancing Australia’s transition to a cleaner and more reliable energy system,” he said.

The sale of the Gunning project is the latest in a series of recent achievements for Recurrent Energy, including the registration of the 150 MW Carwarp Solar Farm in northwest Victoria and the start of commercial operations at the 100 MW / 200 MWh Mannum battery energy storage project in South Australia.

The Carwarp Solar Farm was last week registered in the Australian Energy Market Operator’s market management system – a key step indicating readiness for testing and commissioning.

Located near Carwarp in Victoria’s northwest, the solar farm is part of the broader Carwarp Energy Park, that will eventually include a hybrid battery energy storage system.

Once fully operational, the PV power plant is expected to generate 405 GWh of clean electricity annually and is backed by a long-term power purchase agreement with an unnamed multinational company.

Recurrent Energy also announced recently that the Mannum battery project, which it sold, and is now owned by South Australian energy infrastructure company Epic Energy, had successfully completed commissioning and commenced full operations.

The project, developed by Recurrent Energy and executed by fellow Canadian Solar subsidiary  e-STORAGE after being sold to Epic last year, was built alongside that company’s Mannum Energy Park, that includes two solar farms with a combined 35 MW generation capacity.