New South Wales’ Tweed Shire Council has commenced a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement that will see more than half its electricity for larger sites being generated by wind and solar farms.
The PPA, which was established with Flow Power, involves supply from Sapphire Wind Farm situated near Glenn Innes, and Bomen Solar Farm near Wagga Wagga.
Bomen Solar Farm generating power along with $1 million community fund Wagga’s new Bomen Solar Farm is now transmitting power to the grid and preparing to launch one of its first community grants projects to put in up to 50,000 plants in Eunony Valley.
The $180 million farm with 310,000 solar panels can generate 120 megawatts or enough electricity to power 36,000 homes.
Trenching and piling have recently commenced at the Bomen Solar Farm and it is expected that the first installation of panels will begin on August 23.
From August 26, the first major influx of local employees will begin working on the solar farm. The workforce will continue to grow until the end of September when there will be approximately 200 workers onsite, the vast majority of whom will be local.
The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and the Environment recently granted an extension to construction hours on Saturdays to allow general works to be extended from 1:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. until November 16. This will not include piling.
Thank you to all those neighbours who supported this application. The boundary areas and some internal spaces have been sprayed and prepared for landscape planting. The planting of the 5,000 seedlings will commence on August 19.
Read the full newsletter here: Newsletter #4, August 2019
Highlights:
▪ ‘Golden Row’ ceremony marks commencement of installation of 310,000 bi-facial solar panels at Wagga Wagga’s Bomen Solar Farm
▪ Construction scheduled to complete in March 2020 with the Solar Farm expected to be fully operational by second quarter of 2020
▪ Bomen Solar Farm will generate enough energy to power the equivalent of 36,000 homes annually
▪ During construction up to 250 workers will be employed, the majority from Wagga Wagga and the region
Spark Infrastructure today celebrated the installation of the first of 310,000 bi-facial solar panels at a ‘Golden Row’ ceremony held at Wagga Wagga’s Bomen Solar Farm.
At the ceremony, Bomen’s owner Spark Infrastructure was joined in installing the first row of panels by Westpac and Flow Power (generation off-takers), Jinko (solar panel supplier) and Wagga Wagga City Council.
Engineering and Construction Contractor for the Farm, Beon Energy Solutions (Beon), will install 310,000 bi-facial panels which are designed to maximise the amount of energy captured and ultimately distributed to the grid by the Farm. Early works have already commenced at the Farm, however, the ‘Golden Row’ marks the beginning of full scale construction.
Spark Infrastructure Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Rick Francis, said: “Spark Infrastructure is delighted to be in Wagga Wagga with our key stakeholders in the project to celebrate the official launch of construction at Bomen Solar Farm.
“Spark Infrastructure and Beon are excited to be working with Westpac, Jinko and Flow Power, to deliver a major piece of renewable energy infrastructure to Wagga Wagga. We are proud to be working with the Wagga Wagga community to create jobs during and after the project’s construction. We are especially proud alongside Westpac to be supporting the local community through a $1 million community fund dedicated to providing local scholarships, youth and biodiversity programs across the region,” Mr Francis added.
Beon General Manger, Glen Thomson said: “Today’s installation is a major milestone for the Bomen Solar Farm development and the Wagga Wagga region. Construction will begin in earnest on Monday now that the first row of solar panels has been installed. And within a few weeks we will have a team of up to 250 on site, the majority of whom will be local. We are also pleased to be training a number of local apprentices during construction. This training will set them up to work in the growing solar sector across the Riverina and the nation,” Mr Thomson said.
Spark Infrastructure and Beon confirmed that the 120-megawatt capacity Farm will complete construction in March 2020 with Bomen expected to be fully operational by the second quarter of 2020.
Mr Francis said: “We are strongly supportive of the need to reduce carbon emissions and the drive towards more renewable energy, with Bomen Solar Farm being our flagship investment in renewables. When fully operational, Bomen will produce enough clean energy to power 36,000 homes per year.” Spark Infrastructure acquired the Farm in April 2019.
This significant project for the region is supported by its strong grid location and proximity to TransGrid’s Wagga North substation.
Read the full announcement: First panels installed during ‘golden row’ ceremony
Construction at Bomen Solar Farm is due to commence shortly and the principal contractor, Beon Energy Solutions, will be undertaking preparation works in the coming weeks. Site preparation will include the establishment of site amenities and laydown areas, construction of site entrances on Trahairs Road, vegetation removal, ripping for landscaping preparation and other activities such as fencing. Towards the end of June, earthworks and trenching activities will begin. The construction and commissioning programme is scheduled to take less than 12 months with commercial operations due to commence in Q2 2020. The timeline below gives more detail on the construction programme.
Beon Energy Solutions is in the process of procuring a range of goods and services for the construction of Bomen Solar Farm. If you are interested in opportunities during the construction phase, and haven’t already registered your details, please visit the project website to submit a contractor enquiry form.
Read the Bomen Solar Farm Update here (Newsletter #3, May 2019).
A significant milestone has been achieved at Bomen Solar Farm today with the project being acquired by Spark Infrastructure. Renew Estate has developed the project through various planning approval stages, and Spark Infrastructure is excited to be taking the project to the next stage of its process. We are proud to be delivering this project for the Wagga Wagga community and the region.
We are a leader in essential service infrastructure and through our businesses, we deliver energy to more than 5.6 million customers across three states. With ownership interests in Victoria Power Networks, SA Power Networks, and TransGrid, we are helping transition Australia to a lower carbon future. We have worked closely with Renew Estate and we know how diligent they’ve been in keeping the community informed and up‑to-date with this project. We want to assure you we will continue this throughout construction and eventually through the commencement of commercial operations of the site
Bomen Solar Farm will be constructed by Beon Energy Solutions, an associate company of Spark Infrastructure. Beon (pronounced bee‑on) has experience in providing services on more than $3 billion of Australian electrical assets, including three of the first solar farms to be built in Australia. With early works having commenced on-site, construction is due to start in coming months. The site is expected to be fully operational in Q2 2020.
In April 2019, Australia’s first bank – Westpac – announced that it had agreed to purchase just over a quarter of Bomen Solar Farm’s output for 10 years as part of its commitment to source the equivalent of 100 per cent of its global electricity consumption through renewable sources by 2025. This is in addition to Flow Power’s agreement in December 2018 to purchase part of the farm’s output, delivering low-cost solar power to its business customers for up to ten years. Flow Power is an electricity retailer transforming the way Australian businesses buy their electricity. Their customers include leading wine maker Australian Vintage and iconic snack food manufacturer Snack Brands.
Westpac, in partnership with Spark Infrastructure, has committed to providing a $1 million community fund to benefit the community around Bomen Solar Farm over 10 years. This will be one of the largest community benefit packages associated with a solar farm in Australia. The community fund will provide support for STEM scholarships, local community projects, youth facilities and recreation programs, and local biodiversity and vegetation regeneration programs. Watch the website for more details about this exciting program in coming months.
A community information drop-in session will be held at Mercure Hotel, 1 Morgan Street, Wagga Wagga on Tuesday, 28 May 2019 from 5.30pm to 6.30pm. This will be to provide information to potential contractors and employees for the construction of Bomen Solar Farm. As the Principal Contractor, Beon will be procuring a wide range of goods and services for the construction of the project and the project team will be available at the session to talk through the procurement and employment process. Bomen Solar Farm is committed to utilising local talent to ensure that tangible benefits are provided to the local community. More information on the goods and services required and a contractor enquiry form can be found on our website
Australian renewable energy company Renew Estate has been granted planning approval to build Bomen Solar Farm, a 120 megawatt (MW) project near the Bomen Business Park, approximately 7km northeast of the Wagga Wagga Central Business District. The approved project includes a 40MWh battery storage system.
When built, Bomen Solar Farm will provide enough renewable energy to power the equivalent of approximately 36,000 homes with clean, green energy. The project will utilise tracking photovoltaic (PV) systems which will increase the energy generation at the start and end of each day when energy demand is high. Construction of the project is expected to commence shortly and the project is scheduled to be fully operational by Q4 2019.
Director Simon Currie stated: “All elements needed for development such as connection, procurement, offtake and financing are well advanced, and we will proceed with construction of this project shortly. We believe that the Bomen Solar Farm project will play an important role in the development and expansion of the Bomen Business Park.”
He added, “The recent announcement about the partnership between the Wagga Wagga City Council and Visy to build the Riverina Intermodal Freight and Logistics Hub is very exciting and we are committed to the continuing expansion of Bomen as an industrial hub for NSW.”
“A solar farm of this size plays a key role in both diversifying and strengthening the state’s energy mix. Equally importantly, and this is critical to Renew Estate, this project will deliver a range of enduring and tangible benefits to the local community.”
At its peak, a 120 MW solar farm requires about 200 workers on site.
Mr Currie stated: “We are committed to maximising the opportunities for local industry and service providers in the construction of this project, particularly given the skilled local labour force and strong industrial capabilities of the region. We are collaborating with TAFE Wagga Wagga and Charles Sturt University to discuss research roles, internships and scholarship opportunities.“
Mark Hogan, Managing Director of Wirsol Energy, a major shareholder of Renew Estate, said: “Wirsol Energy owns one of the largest portfolios of solar PV projects in Australia. We are passionate about delivering low-cost solar energy produced by this project to businesses both in the Bomen area and beyond. This is an exciting time for the solar industry in Australia and Bomen Solar Farm will assist Wirsol in reaching our target of 1GW of solar generation in Australia.”
Renew Estate is developing a portfolio of renewable energy projects across Australia. Bomen Solar Farm is the second project to be granted planning approval with the first being the 300 MW Rodds Bay Solar Farm near Gladstone in Queensland, which is one of the largest projects under development in Australia.
This is the second newsletter for the Bomen Solar Farm, a proposed 120 megawatt (MW) solar farm to be located on industrial land in the Bomen Industrial Park, approximately 7 km from the city of Wagga Wagga.
Australian solar farm developer Renew Estate has lodged a development application for its proposed 120 MW Bomen Solar Farm and will be holding a community information drop-in session on 7 May. The $164 million project will be located on industrial land in the heart of the Bomen Industrial Park, located approximately 7km from Wagga Wagga CBD, NSW. This precinct is home to many large-scale industrial energy users, including Australia’s largest canola oil processing plant, a battery recycling centre and the proposed Riverina Intermodal Freight and Logistics (RiFL) Hub.
The Bomen Solar Farm will generate enough renewable energy to power industrial users in and around Bomen and the production will be equivalent to the demand of Approximately 35,000 Australian homes. The project has been designed to be “future ready” and includes the provision of battery storage so that solar farm can enhance the reliability in the Wagga Wagga region. The development application for Bomen Solar Farm was lodged with the NSW Department of Planning and Environment and will be on public exhibition from 21 April to 21 May.
The application includes a full Environmental Impact Statement which is available online (see the NSW Major Projects Register www.majorprojects.planning.nsw.gov.au/page/on-exhibition or the project website www.bomensolarfarm.com.au) and hard copies can be viewed at the City of Wagga Wagga council office.
Renew Estate will be presenting information on the project at their community information session which will be held at the North Wagga Hall from 5:00 to 7:30pm on Monday 7 May.
Renew Estate Director of Engagement and Culture Rosie King said that Renew Estate is committed to building upon the engagement done to date with the nearby residents, local community organisations and industrial neighbours. This next community drop-in information session will be a good opportunity for the wider community to find out more about the project.
“We will be presenting key information from our Environmental Impact Statement and there will be a number of Renew Estate staff on hand to answer any questions the community may have,” Ms. King said.
“We encourage any interested local businesses, contractors, service providers or potential employees to attend the session and find out more about the opportunities that will be available during the construction and operation of the solar farm.”
“We believe our project can contribute to the success of the Bomen Industrial Park. Renew Estate is committed to offering local businesses the opportunity to participate in the development of a new sustainable energy industry for the Riverina region” Ms. King said. The Bomen Solar Farm is one of a portfolio of solar farms being developed by Renew Estate. If approved, Bomen Solar Farm will start construction later this year and be operational by mid-2019. Further information on the project can be found at www.bomensolarfarm.com.au.
Welcome to the first newsletter of the Bomen Solar Farm – a proposed 120 megawatt (MW) solar farm located on land zoned for industrial use, 7 km north-east of the city of Wagga Wagga.
The farm will be situated on approximately 250 hectares of land zoned for industrial use, and if approved should produce sufficient electricity to power approximately 35,000 Australian homes over the course of a year.
The solar farm will consist of photovoltaic (PV) modules mounted on a single axis tracking structure will follow the sun from east to west each day. The tracking structure will be mounted on piles that are screwed or driven into the ground. Underground cabling will connect the modules to power conversion stations containing electrical switchgear, inverters and transformers. These stations will then connect to the existing North Wagga substation near the site. The solar panels are designed to reduce reflection and absorb sunlight with minimal glare.
A number of specialist studies have been completed and include biodiversity, flooding and hydrology, cultural heritage, bushfire, visual amenity, noise and vibration, soils, contamination, waste, utilities, socio-economic, trafffic land use, air quality and electromagnetic fields. These all form part of the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) that will be submitted with the planning application to the DP&E.
Download Bomen Solar Farm Newsletter #1March 2018 Newsletter here.