Site assessment, acquisition and development
Renewable Energy technology assessment and acquisition
Power network connection feasibility, negotiation and development
Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) negotiation
The Scouller Energy model 5 megawatt (MW) Solar PV Power Station in Normanton, North West Queensland.
The Normanton Solar PV power station is the first stage of the portfolio of power generation infrastructure proposed to be developed by Scouller Energy project. Scouller Energy has identified a number of sites at fringe-of-grid locations throughout North West Queensland that meet Scouller Energy’s detailed feasibility criteria for development as large scale Solar PV power stations.
The Scouller Energy Solar PV power stations will reduce transmission line energy losses, reduce the regions’ carbon footprint, and facilitate additional network capacity for local business development in Regional Queensland. Scouller Energy genuinely believes that this type of project will deliver solid financial benefits to communities in remote regions of Queensland.
Normanton Solar Farm will act as a test case for network provider Ergon Energy to understand the true impact on network losses
At the Normanton Solar PV power station site, Scouller Energy intends to establish a Knowledge Sharing / data collection centre to make the power generation data available to the public via an internet portal, and include initiatives to promote the virtues of distributed renewable energy to remote regions of Australia.
Normanton Solar Farm is scheduled for completion in December 2016
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For Carpentaria Shire, and the local community, the likely local and regional development, tourism and educational benefits include:
Normanton is the main service centre of the Gulf Savannah region
The Normanton Solar Farm partners are proposing to build and operate a 5MW Solar Photovoltaic (PV) power station at Normanton, in Queensland’s Gulf Savannah region. Normanton is a very remote, tropical location, in the South East corner of the Gulf of Carpentaria, with a population of 2,200.
The Normanton Solar Farm will be based at Lilyvale, a degraded ex-grazing property 5 km south of Normanton in Queensland’s Gulf Savannah region.
Normanton is the main service centre of the Gulf Savannah region, with a population of around 2,200. Karumba, 70 kilometres by road to the north west, is the region’s private sector hub. It hosts an active export port, mine processing and export facilities from the world’s second largest zinc mine (Century), a substantial fishing fleet and marine industry, as well as a booming tourism industry based on recreational fishing and Gulf access.
Normanton is located in a testing tropical environment, experiencing monsoonal floods, cyclones, electrical storms and regular high temperature events.
The region has been assessed as having a strong economic development potential, and a recent report concluded that “this [recent] wave of industry and Government investment is a clear signal that the region is likely to experience significant economic and population growth in coming decades ”.
The Normanton Solar Farm partners are proposing to build and operate a 5MW Solar Photovoltaic (PV) power station at Normanton. The Normanton Solar Farm, with support from its principal partners Scouller Energy (SE), and Canadian Solar Inc, will utilise proven solar technology and efficient construction practices, while also delivering seamless integration into Ergon Energy’s Electricity grid.
Most importantly, this project will demonstrate to key stakeholders such as State Governments and energy distributors, that there are meaningful technical and financial benefits of positioning distributed generation on an appropriate, moderate scale at the far end of the sub transmission (66kV) network. Successful application of this concept has the potential to catalyse a new wave of renewable energy investment in other fringe-of-grid locations, and will also provide valuable learnings for solar applications in remote, tropical locations.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) today announced $8.4 million funding support for Canadian Solar and Scouller Energy to construct a 5 MW DC (4.5 MW AC) solar farm near Normanton in far North-West Queensland.
ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said Normanton Solar Farm would help demonstrate how integrating solar into the grid can improve energy reliability in regional Australia.
“Like many regional Australian communities, Normanton is on the fringe of one of our major electricity networks,” Mr Frischknecht said.
“Power generated in Rockhampton is fed across more than 1000 kilometres of transmission lines to the Normanton area. Electricity transmitted over long distances typically experiences significant losses along the way.
“Adding renewable energy generation closer to where it’s needed can provide more reliable and efficient power. This is a key ARENA investment focus for fringe-of-grid and network constrained areas.
“Normanton Solar Farm will act as a test case for network provider Ergon Energy to understand the true impact on network losses. This will provide a starting point to explore regulatory changes that would support more renewable energy installations in fringe-of-grid locations across Australia.”
Normanton Solar Farm will be jointly owned by Canadian Solar and Scouller Energy. Canadian Solar Australia has been contracted to construct the solar plant. Ergon Energy has signed a power purchase agreement to buy electricity from the plant.
Mr Frischknecht said Ergon Energy would work with Canadian Solar and Scouller Energy to analyse and report on the network impacts of operating the plant.
“This will allow energy distribution businesses to consider whether it’s feasible to compensate large-scale solar plants for the network benefits they provide,” Mr Frischknecht said.
“This could make large-scale solar plants more competitive and encourage more project developments, potentially increasing solar uptake and benefitting local communities where these projects can positively impact on the grid.”
Normanton Solar Farm is scheduled for completion in December 2016.
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SMEC is a professional services firm with Australian origins and a global footprint that provides high-quality consultancy services on major infrastructure projects. SMEC has over 5,000 employees and an established network of more than 70 offices in Australia, Asia, the Middle East, Africa and North and South America.
SMEC provides consultancy services for the lifecycle of a project, to a broad range of sectors including:
Canadian Solar Inc. is the world’s third largest solar company and is a vertically integrated manufacturer of ingots, wafers, cells, PV panels and system components.
Our global brand is well-recognised for high quality, reliability and bankability, as evidenced by installations of more than 7 GW of premium quality modules deployed around the world in the past 13 years.
Canadian Solar Inc. was founded in Ontario, Canada in 2001, and has been listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange since 2006 with over 7,700 employees globally. Our principal manufacturing facilities are based in Suzhou, China and in Ontario, Canada. We are a Bloomberg-rated Tier 1 company and one of the most bankable solar companies in Europe, USA, Japan and China.
Canadian Solar operates in six continents with customers in over 90 countries and regions. Canadian Solar is committed to providing high quality solar products, solar system solutions and services to customers around the world.
Pioneering Sustainability for the Outback
Solar Futures Australia established in 2014 to support knowledge sharing activities and drive opportunities in tourism, education, research while improving awareness and sustainability of the attributes of Solar Power Generation for the North West Queensland Region partnering Scouller Energy Pty Ltd – Normanton Solar Farm.
