New solar project provides boost to South Australia’s 2027 renewable energy target – pv magazine Australia

August 13, 2024 Eva Foley

The 300MW Robertstown East Solar Farm is in the process of applying for planning permission with the South Australian Planning Authority and will be the final piece of the puzzle for the neighbouring Robertstown Solar Farm and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).

The Robertstown East Solar Project is a 300 MW solar farm located on the Geranium Plains in South Australia (SA), 115 kilometres north-east of Adelaide.

The project, being developed by Canadian renewable energy developer AMP Energy and Australian developer EPS Energy, will be located adjacent to the proposed and already approved 200MW Robertstown solar farm and 1,250MW/500MWh BESS electricity storage facility, which are to be built on an area of ​​1,800 hectares.

During the wider Solar DA Development Application (SDA), it was determined that the available space was only suitable for 200 MW of solar infrastructure, prompting a new DA application for an additional 630 hectares within the project area to accommodate the proposed 300 MW.

Sponsored by the South African Department of Energy and Mining as essential infrastructure, a smaller 300MW project will also be connected to the national grid via underground cables and overhead transmission lines to a substation in Robertstown or Bundey, for connection to the South African electricity grid.

EPS Energy says that in each year of the project’s 30-year life, it will have the potential to displace greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by the equivalent of 810,000 tonnes per year and provide clean energy to approximately 144,000 homes.

The Robertstown Clean Energy Project and the proposed Robertstown East Solar Project are located within the Mid North SA Renewable Energy Zone (SA REZ), which was identified as feasible for development in 2024 in the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) Integrated System Plan (ISP) 2024, at a total estimated cost of $389 million.

The proposed 2022 Mid North SA REZ project involves the construction of a double-circuit 275 kV line between Bundey and Para, the disconnection of the existing 132 kV Waterloo-Templers line at each end, the construction of a single-circuit 132 kV line from Templers West to Templers and a new 160 MVA, 275/132 kV transformer at Templers West, 70 kilometres south-west of Robertstown.

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