Canadian Solar wins permit for 250-MW solar park with storage in NSW

Canadian Solar Inc (NASDAQ:CSIQ) has been granted planning approval for the construction of complex housing a 250-MW solar park and 150 MW/600 MWh of battery energy storage systems (BESS) in New South Wales, Australia.

The permit was issued by the state government on Friday. According to an official statement, it comes with certain conditions, among which concern additional road upgrades.

The AUD-651-million (USD 429.2m/EUR 400.4m) Gunning solar farm is planned to be located in the Southern Tablelands region of New South Wales and will be equipped with Canadian Solar’s bifacial panels mounted on single-axis trackers. Once in operation, it will have an output that is expected to be enough to meet the demand of up to 92,000 homes in the Southern Tablelands.

The photovoltaic (PV) farm will be coupled with a four-hour battery, which will store excessive solar power volumes and feed them back into the grid during peak demand periods.

Canadian Solar bought a 51% stake in the Gunning PV scheme from Photon Energy back in 2018 and in 2021 became the project’s solar owner following an asset swap deal with the Dutch developer. It estimates the project will bring AUD 4.7 million to the local council and the community over its lifespan.

(AUD 1.0 = USD 0.659/EUR 0.615)

Choose your newsletter by Renewables Now. Join for free!