Verve Energy, First Solar, GE switch on 10-MW PV plant in Australia

Oct 10, 2012 - Australian state-owned utility Verve Energy, US solar module maker First Solar Inc (NASDAQ:FSLR) and GE Financial Services, part of General Electric (NYSE:GE), on Tuesday officially powered up a 10-MW photovoltaic (PV) plant in Western Australia.

Verve Energy and GE Energy Financial Services each own 50% of the Greenough River Solar Farm. First Solar engineered and installed the plant using 150,000 of its PV modules and will provide operations and maintenance services for the plant for 15 years, it said in a statement on Tuesday.

The PV plant will produce enough power to supply 3,000 households and offset 20,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions a year, First Solar calculates. WA Water Corp will buy the output of the plant to power its Southern Seawater desalination plant.

Verve Energy and GE Energy now consider expanding the capacity of the plant, which is the largest operating PV plant in Australia, to 40 MW, said Verve Energy CEO Jason Waters.

Western Australia government provided AUD 20 million (USD 20.4m/EUR 15.8m) in funding, including AUD 10 million from the WA Royalties for Regions programme.

This is the first renewable energy investment of GE Energy Financial Services in Australia, according to the statement.

(AUD 1= USD 1.018/EUR 0.792)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!