Power magnate Adani will diversify its Australian holdings by building a $100 million solar farm in the heart of the nation’s coal country.
While Adani’s operations in Australia have so far been limited to coal mining — its proposed Carmichael Coal Mine in central Queensland would be Australia’s largest, if approved — work on the array will begin later this year.
The array will be sited on a 600-hectare block of land that was part of the Rugby Run grazing property. The first stage will add 65 megawatts of capacity by the end of next year. Further stages will ramp up capacity to 170 megawatts.
“This is an exciting project in terms of its size, location and the technology we are using. This will be Adani Renewables’ first project [in Australia] – the first of many,” Dr Purdie said.
The company is close to signing a power purchasing agreement for the facility with a major retailer, according to a spokesperson.
While Adani remains committed to coal, the government’s goal of generating 50 per cent of Queensland’s power from renewables by 2030 has spurred investment in wind and solar. The company plans to develop up to 1,500 megawatts of renewable projects in Australia over the next five years.
“We are looking at three to four other potential solar sites around Australia, but we are also interested in wind or hydro, but it would depend on the project,” the spokesman said.
Read the full article in the Australian Financial Review.