In May this year, eight companies received the exciting news that their proposed solar projects had been shortlisted for Federal funding under the Solar Flagships program.
The $1.5 billion program was set up by the Federal Government to select and fund large-scale grid-connected solar projects that could ultimately produce a combined capacity of 1,000 megawatts (MW) of energy.
52 funding applications were submitted during round one of the program, and the eight projects left in the running will be vying for final selection in round two.
During round two, applicants will receive feasibility funding – a collective sum of $15 million – to develop more extensive applications for their projects. The subsequent applications are to include details of final site selection, community consultation and site approvals, engineering and project financing.
Two winning projects will be selected for funding and development support at the end of round two – one project that focuses on solar photovoltaic technology (PV), and another that focuses on solar thermal technology. The two winning applicants are expected to be announced in the first half of 2011.
The stakes are high, as is the calibre of the proposed projects. In this edition of EcoGeneration we look at the solar PV projects competing for Solar Flagships funding, and the companies behind them.
AGL – 200 MW, up to 5 locations around Australia
AGL, in collaboration with First Solar and Bovis Lend Lease, is developing up to five solar PV projects with a total capacity of up to 200 MW (Alternating Current) in up to five different states and territories.
AGL has not yet finalised specific locations for the projects, but expects to site plants based on a combination of land availability, transmission capacity and connectivity, solar resource, and state and local support. AGL will utilise First Solar’s thin film PV technology and Bovis Lend Lease will provide design and construction services for the projects, with support from First Solar.
AGL is one of the largest private owner, operator and developers of renewable generation in Australia.
First Solar, a publicly listed company based in the United States, is one of the largest thin film PV manufacturers in the world, with the capability to produce over 1,200 MW of PV modules a year. First Solar has over 1,500 MW deployed to date, both in large scale and distributed applications.
Bovis Lend Lease is a project management, design and construction company. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Lend Lease Group, a property solutions provider established in 1958 and listed on the Australian Securities Exchange. Bovis Lend Lease is headquartered in Sydney, with offices in major Australian capital cities.
BP Solar – 150 MW, NSW Tablelands
BP Solar is leading a consortium of corporations to develop, construct, own and operate a 150 MW PV facility in the New South Wales Tablelands.
The facility will use crystalline silicon technology optimised on trackers to maximise capacity. For Solar Flagships, BP Solar, together with Fotowatio, will act as investor, developer, EPC contractor and O&M service provider. BP Solar will be working closely with the New South Wales Government and its research partner to develop this landmark project.
BP Solar designs, manufactures and installs utility-scale energy solutions and currently has major PV plants operating in the United States, Europe and Asia.
Infigen and Suntech – 195 MW, up to three sites in VIC or NSW
Infigen Energy and Suntech Power Holdings have formed a consortium to build solar power plants with a capacity of between 150 MW and 195 MW AC at up to three sites in Victoria or New South Wales.
The project will incorporate solar panels that utilise Suntech’s solar cell technology, developed in collaboration with the University of New South Wales (UNSW). Phoenix Solar and Tenix have been identified as the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractors for the project and UNSW will be the research partner.
Infigen Energy, a specialist renewable energy business, has five wind farms in Australia with a total capacity of 508 MW. It also owns and operates wind farms in the United States and Germany, taking its global wind energy business interests to 35 wind farms with a total capacity of 2,194 MW.
Suntech is the world’s largest crystalline silicon PV manufacturer. Suntech’s Pluto solar panels are based on technology that was developed at the UNSW.
Phoenix Solar is a German-based PV systems integrator and Tenix is an Australian-based power asset services provider offering turnkey solutions for network connection assets.
TRUenergy – 180 MW, Mildura, VIC
TRUenergy proposes to build a 180 MW solar power plant near Mildura in Victoria.
The company has proposed that this facility will utilise First Solar’s thin-film PV modules and be constructed by Bovis Lend Lease. The project will also partner with the CSIRO to support the research and development component of the Solar Flagships program. WorleyParsons is anticipated to provide engineering support.
TRUenergy is an Australian-based energy services provider with experience in delivering large energy infrastructure projects. It is the third largest privately-owned electricity and gas retailer and one of the largest privately-owned electricity generators in Australia.
First Solar and Bovis Lend Lease are also involved in AGL’s proposed Solar Flagships PV project.
