Hareon Solar could build up to 2 GW of solar in Australia - report

Chinese firm Hareon Solar Technology Co Ltd (SHA:600401) could install 1 GW to 2 GW of solar power generation capacity in Australia, but any decision will depend on policy stability.

Jie Zhang, vice president of global business development, told the Guardian Australia that Hareon will make a decision on the billion-dollar investment within 12 months. He was cited as saying in an interview in Paris that having a stable government climate policy would be much more important for the investment decision, than the availability of subsidies.

China-based Hareon Solar makes solar equipment and develops, builds and operates photovoltaic (PV) parks worldwide. It has built solar farms in China, the UK, the US, Bulgaria, Japan and Romania. Earlier today, SeeNews reported that the firm had signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) for a 61-MWp PV plant in Jordan.

In Australia, Zhang believes that large-scale solar can be competitive at peak hours, the Guardian said.

At the end of 2014, Australia had 4 GW of solar PV power plants, according to research firm GlobalData. Recently, US firm First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) completed work on the 53-MW Broken Hill solar park in New South Wales (NSW), and it also installed a 1.7-MW solar system at a mine in Queensland. There are several large-scale projects planned, including two PV parks of 150 MW each by Genex Power and by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV).

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