Downer scores EPC, O&M deal for 148 MW in Australia

Palisade and ESCO did not reveal the supplier of the 420,000 monocrystalline PV modules that will be used for the 148 MW array near Townsville. They have signed a 13-year PPA with EnergyAustralia. The Ross River installation will take about a year to finish, Downer said in an online statement. It has also agreed to maintain the project upon completion. 

The engineering and infrastructure service provider has now worked on roughly 2.3 GW of solar capacity in Australia. Most recently, it was tapped to provide EPC services for the biggest PV+battery storage installation in the world. Developer Lyon expects to start building the 330 MW solar array and 100 MW/400MWh battery system at some point this year in South Australia.

In late December, Downer signed an AU$190 million (US$143 million) deal to handle EPC duties for Fotowatio Renewable’s 100 MW Clare solar project near Ayr, Queensland. Sydney-listed Downer is also currently working on a 15 MW (AC) solar array in Valdora, on Queensland’s Sunshine Coast. Under the AU$37 million ($28 million) deal, it is installing 57,000 solar panels and six inverters, in addition to civil and structural work on the site.

The Ross River installation is the latest in a handful of large solar projects announced in Australia in recent weeks. In early April, Italian utility Enel and Dutch investment manager DIF revealed plans to invest $157 million in the first 137.5 MW phase of a 275 MW array near Port Augusta, South Australia. And in late April, Solar Q announced plans to build 350 MW of fresh capacity in Queensland’s Lower Wonga region. Upon completion, the array will be one of Australia’s largest solar projects.