Photon Energy N.V. (WSE: PEN, the 'Group' or the'Company') and the Leeton Shire Council held a soil-turningceremony on 22 October 2020 to celebrate the start of constructionon two PV power plants with a combined capacity of 14 MWp inLeeton, New South Wales.
Photon Energy will be the owner and operator of the two powerplants, Leeton Solar Farm Pty Ltd and Fivebough Solar Farm Pty Ltd.Each power plant has a grid connection capacity of 4.9 MW AC and aninstalled capacity of 7 MWp DC.
The power plants will be located on Fivebough Road on theoutskirts of Leeton, in the heart of the Murrumbidgee IrrigationArea. The area is one of the most diverse agriculture regions inAustralia, famous for the production of citrus fruits, rice, cottonand wine. It is also an area of significant energy use,traditionally importing energy from large coal power plants locatedhundreds of kilometres away.
The project’s construction phase is expected to create up to 50jobs, the majority of which will be local, and Photon Energy aimsto source supplies and services from local businesses.
The power plants will extend over 37 hectares and supply powerto the grid of Essential Energy as non-scheduled generators.Together they are expected to generate approximately 27.8 GWh ofclean energy per year.
These are the two largest projects to be added to PhotonEnergy’s global portfolio and its first merchant projects providingcompetitive energy into the Australian energy market. Uponcompletion, scheduled for the end of the fourth quarter of 2020,these new additions will expand the Company’s global PV portfolioof power plants to 88.7 MWp.
Photon Energy Engineering Australia Pty Ltd will act asengineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor for bothprojects. Once connected to the grid, Photon Energy OperationsAustralia Pty Ltd will provide long-term operations and maintenanceas well as monitoring services.
‘Leeton Shire Council is delighted that this long-awaitedrenewable energy project is commencing, which will contribute to upto 50 jobs locally during the construction phase and two to threejobs long-term,’ commented Paul Maytom, Mayor of Leeton ShireCouncil.
‘We thank the Leeton Shire Council for their support to makethese projects possible and are proud to be adding to Australia’sarsenal of reliable, clean and competitive fleet of solar powergeneration supplying a region which has significant power demands.We will participate directly in the National Energy Market and withsingle axis tracking technology we will be able to optimise powergeneration to take advantage of market opportunities with theflexibility of adding energy storage in the future,’ said MichaelGartner, CTO of the Group and Managing Director of Photon EnergyAustralia.
‘At Photon Energy, we care deeply about communities and theenvironment. The Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area has significantenergy requirements, and we are very proud that with the Leetonsolar farm we will help the area and its residents reduce theirreliance on energy imported from large coal power plants hundredsof kilometres away,’ added Georg Hotar, CEO of PhotonEnergy.
Martin Kysly
Photon Energy
T +420 774 810 670
E martin.kysly@photonenergy.com