Risen sees commissioning of 100-MW Aussie solar park in early 2020

Risen Energy Australia has completed the construction of its 100-MW Yarranlea solar park in Queensland and expects commercial operations to be launched at the start of 2020 after “continuous testing” needed to make it grid-compliant.

The company, part of Chinese solar module producer Risen Energy Co Ltd (SHE:300118), said on Monday the project is now in the “several months” long commissioning phase that includes a testing process with the Australian Energy Marketing Organisation (AEMO). The related substation infrastructure has been energised, as well.

Due to hurdles in accommodating new capacity into the National Electricity Market (NEM), AEMO introduced a “hold point” approval for commissioning the capacity of a power plant in stages, warning that the entire process could take up to 18 months.

“Part of the commissioning is considering network constraints and we are working with Ergon Energy to maximise power output while minimising impacts to the network”, said Eric Lee, Risen’s general manager for Australia.

Risen Energy bought the Yarranlea project in February 2018, announcing plans to build and operate the power plant on a merchant basis, without a power purchase agreement. Located near Pittsworth, the photovoltaic (PV) park uses over 360,000 Risen solar panels that will generate electricity for about 32,000 homes annually.

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