Malaysian developer acquires stake in Australian solar-battery project

Gamuda Renewables announced it has acquired “an interest” in the Hazelwood North solar farm and battery energy storage project being developed in the Australian state of Victoria by Manthos Investments.

One of the largest proposed solar farms in the state, the Hazelwood North project will pair 450 MW of PV generation capacity with a 450 MW/1,800 MWh battery energy storage system. With development approval already secured through Victoria’s Development Facilitation Program, Gamuda said the project is set to enter construction in 2028 with commercial operation expected in 2030, pending a final investment decision.

Jarred Hardman, chief strategy and development officer at Gamuda Renewables, said a key dimension of the Hazelwood North project is its capacity for future expansion with the developers exploring the potential to include a co-located data centre on site.

“The opportunity to expand the project to include a data centre is something both Manthos and our team are genuinely excited about,” he said. “Pairing large-scale renewable generation and storage with the digital infrastructure that increasingly depends on it is a compelling model, and one we look forward to progressing in the months ahead.”

Hardman said co-locating demand with on-site solar and battery storage makes for a particularly compelling opportunity, noting that this model reduces pressure on shared transmission infrastructure and offers data centre operators a genuinely differentiated proposition – dedicated renewable energy built and managed by the same team.

“Hazelwood North marks a significant milestone for us – not only as our first Victorian asset, but as a project that captures exactly where the energy transition is heading,” Hardman said.

Gamuda’s acquisition of an interest in the Hazelwood North project, which remains subject to approval from the Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB), increases its Australian portfolio to three assets across the National Electricity Market (NEM). Other projects in its portfolio include the Weasel solar and battery and the Cellars Hill wind and battery developments being progressed in Tasmania’s Central Highlands.

Gamuda said the deal deepens its commitment to owning and building large-scale renewable energy infrastructure in Australia’s most populous energy markets.

The move has also seen the company boost its Australian renewable energy market ambitions from an initial plan to build a 1-2 GW portfolio of solar, wind and battery projects by 2029 to 5 GW of assets under development, construction, and operation by 2031.

Gamuda will also continue to bid for major engineering, procurement and construction contracts in solar, wind, pumped hydro and transmission network upgrades and expansion.

From pv magazine Australia