SAMCo celebrates Collinsville’s successful year

Stanwell Asset Maintenance Company (SAMCo) has marked its first year of operating and maintaining the Collinsville Solar Farm with RATCH Australia Corporation (RAC).

Located 90km southwest of Bowen, Queensland, the farm features about 180,000 solar panels and generates enough electricity annually to power up to 15,000 homes across the state.

SAMCo’s partnership with RAC — a five-year agreement to deliver operations and maintenance (O&M) services — was its first solar generation maintenance contract following its launch in late 2023.

Created to bring Stanwell’s proven expertise in asset maintenance to the renewable energy sector, SAMCo provides end-to-end O&M services for wind, solar, battery and other clean energy assets across Queensland and beyond.

Over the past year, the site has delivered outstanding performance results, achieving a contractual availability of 99.95% and generating more than 71,819 MWh of energy.

SAMCo’s team manages everything from electrical operations and inspections to inverter and high-voltage system maintenance, panel cleaning, weed control and fire break upkeep.

The company has also successfully implemented its principal safe work system, ePAS, which drives rigorous safety planning and risk management through a digitally integrated workflow.

Collinsville site lead Ian Nelson says rolling out ePas at the remote solar farm shows how scalable and adaptable SAMCo’s safety systems are.

“It’s all about keeping our people safe and giving our clients peace of mind,” he said.

The partnership has also created two permanent roles on site, supported placements through SAMCo’s development pathways program and generated subcontracting opportunities for local businesses.