Construction company Pacific Partnerships announced that it has acquired the development rights for the 700MWac Cobbora Solar Farm and co-located large-scale battery energy storage system (BESS) project in New South Wales (NSW).
Spread across 3,000 hectares of mainly cleared grazing land in the east of Dubbo, this farm, when developed, will become one of the largest solar farms in Australia. While designing the farm, the focus will be on keeping the disruption of the land at a minimum. Once the farm is operational, sheep grazing is expected to continue as usual. Towards this, an Environmental Impact Statement will be submitted by the NSW Department of Planning and Environment (DPE) by late 2024.
Pacific Partnerships will be developing, investing and managing the delivery and operations of the Cobbora Solar Farm and BESS, through its energy business, Pacific Partnerships Energy. Meanwhile, CIMIC Group, which owns Pacific Partnerships, will deploy fellow company UGL to undertake early works, develop the project solution, and provide operation and maintenance services once completed.
Commenting on the farm, Pacific Partnerships Managing Director Simon Nicholls, said: "The Cobbora Solar Farm is a fundamental piece of the Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (CWO REZ), which in turn is a critical priority for the NSW Government."
Echoing similar sentiments, CIMIC Group Executive Chairman Juan Santamaria said: "CIMIC is committed to Australia's energy transition and is developing the large-scale renewable generation assets and infrastructure required to support it."
Adding to this, UGL Managing Director Doug Moss, said: "The solar farm will have the potential to generate enough clean, renewable energy to power approximately 280,000 average-sized homes and it includes an area that can accommodate up to 1600MWh of BESS to supply energy on demand."
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