Two companies, Vestas and Quanta Solar Australia, have won a deal to supply and service Australia’s first hybrid wind-solar-battery power plant at Kennedy Energy Park near Hughenden.
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Vestas will supply and install the wind turbines and operate and maintain the hybrid park, and Quanta Solar will provide engineering, procurement and construction services (EPC).
The news comes a day after the world-leading project received another $94 million from the Clean Energy Finance Corporation, and an $18 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency allowing work to start on the first 60MW of the proposed 1200MW.
The $170 million project will connect to the local grid, providing electricity from Julia Creek to Charters Towers and enough to power more than 30,000 average homes each year.
Windlab Limited, the Australian owned, Canberra-based company and Eurus Energy Holdings Corporation of Japan are the developers and the power plant will feature 12 V136-3.6 MW Vestas turbines, 19 MW of solar panels and 2MW of lithium ion battery storage.
Using the V136-3.45 MW in Power Optimised Mode to 3.6 MW and 132-meter hub height tower design, the Kennedy turbines will deliver increased annual energy production through larger rotors and higher capacity factor.
Vestas will also design and supply the overarching Hybrid Power Plant Control and Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, which controls each respective renewable energy generator within the Park as if it were a single generator for power dispatch.
The US-owned Quanta Solar will deliver the EPC of the solar arrays, battery, connection points and civil work including the foundations for the wind turbines and also the electrical balance of plant including modelling the park, substation design and build, electrical cabling to the turbines and grid connection to the network.
Clive Turton, President of Vestas Asia Pacific, said they worked extensively with Quanta Solar, Windlab and Eurus to find an optimal grid connect solution and Mark Bumpstead, President of Quanta Services Australia called their solution a game changer in the evolving energy market.
“Having three energy sources requires a detailed understanding of each source, how best to interact them with each other so you can then design, construct and ultimately operate a sustainable and secure energy supply”, Mr Bumpstead said.
The Energy Park commercial operations will begin in the fourth quarter of 2018, when Vestas’ 15-year Active Output Management 4000 (AOM4000) service agreement kicks in.
The agreement includes a full-scope service package to maximise uptime for the entire Energy Park, meaning Vestas will provide scheduled and unscheduled maintenance for the wind turbines, solar panels, battery storage and electrical balance of plant.
Windlab Limited CEO Roger Price said Kennedy Energy Park was a first of its kind project in Australia.
“It will lead the nation in the deployment of innovative near base load renewable energy generation that will help the Australian industry successfully transition to a sustainable, clean energy future with less volatility,” Mr Price said.