Neoen signs landmark deal with NSW government

French energy company Neoen has finalised a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the NSW government that will see the company provide Green Certificates to NSW Department of Finance Services and Innovation from the Dubbo Solar Hub from July 1, 2019, until the end of 2030.

The agreement forms part of the NSW Government’s commitment to the renewable energy target – a federal policy implemented to ensure that 33,000GWh of the total electricity consumed in Australia comes from renewable sources by 2020.

The Dubbo Solar Hub will be composed of two solar farms, located in the Orana Region in Central Northern NSW, one in Dubbo South Keswick (15MW) and another in Narromine (9MW). It has been developed with the help of grant provisions from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) under the large scale solar program and Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), along with development partner Bouygues Construction. The project is estimated to be registered and connected to the grid in early 2018.

Once complete, the solar project will contribute 61,000 megawatt hours of renewable energy into the national power grid annually, generating enough power to supply electricity to 9,000 homes across the country.

Neoen Australia managing director Franck Woitiez said the company was committed to fostering growth in the local community.

“Neoen has established a fund to benefit local residents and is committed to investing in local community initiatives and creating jobs for the region. This project is a fantastic step towards our goal of securing 1,000 MW of clean, green energy in Australia by 2020,” he said.

“More importantly it is a positive indication of Australia’s renewable energy future.”

Neoen is the primary independent producer of renewable energy in France and since 2012, has expanded rapidly throughout Europe, Africa, America and Australia. The company has invested more than $1 billion in Australian renewable energy projects with 450MW of renewables either operating or under construction and aims at reaching 1GW of assets by 2020.

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