ESCO Pacific submits development applications for three solar farms with capacity of 320MW

ESCO Pacific, the Australian developer of utility scale solar projects, has submitted development applications for three new solar farms with a total installed capacity of 320 MW in Australia.

In the pipeline is an 85 MW solar farm at Isis River in Queensland, which is expected to generate 168 GWh of electricity annually. The project will be located on flat cattle grazing and cropping land. Bundaberg Regional Council is expected to give a decision on the application in early October 2016.

Further Queensland-based projects at Susan River (Fraser Coast Regional Council) with an installed capacity of 125 MW, and Rollingstone (Townsville City Council) with an installed capacity of 110 MW, are anticipated to be decided on toward the end of October 2016 and early November 2016 respectively.

ESCO Pacific is in discussions with a number of offtake partners as the company moves towards securing grid connection contracts for the three new projects.

These projects follow on from the recently approved  Ross River Solar Farm near Townsville. In June 2016, ESCO Pacific received planning consent from Townsville City Council for the development of the 135 MW solar farm to be built on a disused mango plantation at Ross River. The project will cover an area of 202 hectares and, when operational, will generate renewable energy to meet the annual power needs of approximately 50,000 average households. The AUD250 million (US$192 million) project is expected to take 12 months to build with work to commence in early 2017.

ESCO Pacific Managing Director Steve Rademaker said:

“We continue to accelerate and grow our pipeline of projects and remain excited about the development opportunities in Queensland. With the State having the best solar irradiance in the country, our projects will contribute greatly to Australia’s renewable energy transformation and create hundreds of jobs in Queensland.”