• FRV has reached an agreement with Snowy Hydro, one of the main electricity generation and retailing companies in Australia
• Sebastopol Solar Farm will produce enough clean energy to supply more than 40,000 homes and avoid the emission of approximately 77,600 tons of CO2 per year, the equivalent of taking about 27,700 cars off the road each year
• This project will be FRV’s seventh solar farm in Australia

Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV), part of Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, and a leading global developer of renewable utility-scale projects, has announced the signing of a power purchase agreement (PPA) with Snowy Hydro, one of Australia’s main electricity generation and retailing companies. The agreement will permit FRV to deliver solar power generated from the 90MWac Sebastopol Solar Farm in the State of New South Wales, Australia.

Located 16km south of Temora and approximately 440km south west of Sydney in New South Wales, the plant will connect to the national grid. Its generation will be enough to supply energy to over 40,000 Australian households and avoid the emission of approximately 77,600 tons of CO2 annually, the equivalent of taking about 27,700 cars off the road each year.

Sebastopol Solar Farm’s construction and operation will contribute to the economic development of the area, with FRV projecting the creation of up to 150 jobs during the construction phase of the plant, and 2-3 operational staff for the entire life of the project. Maintenance contracts for jobs such as panel cleaning, fence repair, and road grading, etc. will also be required and will likely be met by local contractors or subcontractors. In addition, the project is expected to have a direct benefit on business volumes for local services, materials and contracting such as accommodation, food and other retail businesses in the area.

This is the second PPA signed by FRV with Snowy Hydro following the successful bid for the 68.7 MWac Goonumbla Solar Farm as part of the Snowy Hydro Renewable Energy Procurement Program in 2018, and which is currently in the final stages of construction.

This agreement is a demonstration of FRV’s commitment to renewables in Australia and of its goal to provide comprehensive and accessible renewable energy solutions across the globe.

Carlo Frigerio, FRV Managing Director Australia said, “After the successful experience of Goonumbla, we are pleased to continue working with Snowy Hydro on a second project contributing to the ongoing diversification of the electricity generation resources in NSW and Australia. This project will be our seventh Australian solar farm and will consolidate our leading position in the Australian renewable energy market”.

Fady Jameel, Deputy President & Vice Chairman of Abdul Latif Jameel, highlights “This announcement marks a new milestone for FRV in Australia. The devastating Australian bushfires have started 2020 off with a stark reminder of the reality of global warming, and the urgent need to address climate change. Together with our partners, FRV and Snowy Hydro, Abdul Latif Jameel is committed to playing an active role in developing clean energy solutions and ultimately contributing to create a more sustainable future for the world”.

Snowy Hydro’s CEO, Paul Broad, said the company was constantly on the lookout for renewable energy offtake opportunities across the eastern-states.

“Through our peaking generation assets we have the capacity to support and ‘firm’ significant amounts of intermittent wind and solar. Following the timely development of Goonumbla, which Snowy Hydro supported through an offtake agreement signed in 2018, we are confident of the same success with Sebastopol.

Snowy Hydro has significant capacity to firm up and store intermittent renewable energy generation. Our flexible portfolio of fast-start assets allows us to supply our customers with 24/7 renewable energy, lowering prices and increasing energy security.” Mr Broad said.