X-ELIO is preparing to start construction on its $200 million solar farm in Queensland’s Western Downs this month, creating up to 400 jobs.
The company has secured the regulatory and financial approvals needed to kick-off work on the 200 megawatt Blue Grass Solar Farm, located 14 kilometres from Chinchilla.
Western Down Regional Council Mayor, Paul McVeigh, said the Western Downs is earning its place as the renewable energy powerhouse in Australia.
“We have the optimum climate, landscape and location for renewable energy, with a skilled workforce and great liveability to back growth in the sector.”
X-ELIO will partner with Queensland’s transmission network provider, Powerlink, connecting to its 132-kilovolt network in order to power 80,000 Queensland homes and deliver an anticipated 420-gigawatt hours of green energy annually once construction of the solar farm is complete in late 2021. Powerlink will also deliver the new grid connection assets associated with the project.
Solar specialist, Gransolar Group (GRS), has been appointed as the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) contractor for the project.
Both partnerships complement X-ELIO’s recently announced Virtual Power Purchase (VPP) Agreement with Salesforce – the global technology company’s first renewable energy offtake agreement in Australia.
X-ELIO’s Country Manager in Australia, Belinda Fan, said the Blue Grass Solar Farm demonstrates X-ELIO’s commitment to developing high-quality and locally responsible renewable projects.
“We understand our role in the local community and look forward to being able to give back by dedicating a percentage of the project’s annual gross income to a Community Support and Benefit Sharing Program. This program will fund local community programs from the first year of the project’s operation in 2022,” she said.
Planning activities for the grid connection project are well advanced and involve connecting the solar farm to Powerlink’s existing network on the Western Downs via a new substation at Cameby.
The Blue Grass Solar Farm is forecast to offset more than 320,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually. The solar farm will be X-ELIO’s largest in Australia and will be Powerlink’s 20th committed renewable connection in Queensland.