Ayala firm ACEN Corporation has awarded to Canadian firm PCL Construction the $800 million engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract for its 520-megawatt (dc) Stubbo solar farm project in Australia.
The project sponsor-firm said “PCL has been engaged to deliver all aspects of the solar project and is responsible for the detailed design, engineering and procurement of Stubbo Solar.”
The project will have 520MW(dc) capacity and 400MW (ac) output; and it will also be integrated with a 200-megawatt hour (MWh) battery energy storage system.
With the award of the EPC contract, the Ayala company emphasized that “this means all major contracts are now in place” – that’s following the recent signing of a connection agreement with infrastructure service provider Lumea.”
The notice-to-proceed for the facility’s construction has also been issued. Following that development, the parent-firm of ACEN firmed up its commitment of $800 million funding to bankroll the project’s construction.
According to Gopi Govindraj, country manager of PCL Construction, “site access recently commenced, with construction of the main works by PCL expected to start in 2023,” adding that if all construction work and activities will proceed according to plan, “the project will be operational in 2025.”
Jose Maria Zabaleta, chief development officer of ACEN noted “the Stubbo Solar will contribute to NSW’s (New South Wales) energy security and Australia's transition to a clean energy future.”
Tim Greenaway, construction manager for ACEN Australia, similarly stated that following the award of the EPC contract to PCL, “we look forward to working with them over the next several years to deliver the project and help support the transition to a low emission generation supply in NSW.”
ACEN said the project is sited within the Central-West Orana renewable energy zone in the Mid-Western Regional Council region and “will connect to the existing 330 kV (kilovolt) network between Wollar and Wellington.”
Upon completion, the solar farm is expected to produce electricity that could power roughly 185,000 average Australian homes.
Given the facility’s coupling with battery energy storage, ACEN qualified that this will allow the project “to later on be adapted to dispatch energy when it is most needed during peak hours and provide important grid stability services.”