ACEN Australia cuts ribbon on 400-MW solar park in NSW

ACEN Australia, a unit of Philippine energy group ACEN Corporation (PSE:ACEN), has inaugurated the first phase of its 720-MW New England solar park in New South Wales, the company said today.

The 400-MW stage one facility was officially opened at a ceremony attended by Chris Bowen, Australia’s Minister for Climate Change and Energy. The plant is expected to start generating at full capacity in the coming months, supplying its output to the National Electricity Market (NEM).

The New England solar project was cleared by the New South Wales government in 2020. Construction on Stage one was initiated in the following year, involving the installation of almost one million photovoltaic (PV) panels.

The huge solar park is located near the town of Uralla in the state’s New England Renewable Energy Zone. It is planned to be coupled with a battery energy storage facility, which will make it Australia’s largest hybrid solar-storage complex. The 720-MW site will generate 1,800 GWh of electricity once fully completed.

New England Solar is the first utility-scale project for the Southeast Asian firm in Australia, where it has more than 1 GW of projects under construction. In January, it issued a notice to proceed with the construction of the 400-MW/520-MWp Stubbo Solar park in New South Wales.

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