DOWNER has managed to nab contracts worth around $165m to build FMG’s 60MW Chichester Solar Farm.
Awarded by Alinta Energy, the contracts cover construction of a new solar photovoltaic generation facility and supporting power infrastructure as part of the solar gas hybrid project.
Work includes the Engineering, Procurement and Construction (EPC) of the Chichester Solar Farm, approximately 60 kilometres of transmission line (linking Fortescue’s Christmas Creek and Cloudbreak mining operations with Alinta Energy’s Newman gas-fired power station and 35MW battery facility), as well as two new substations and the upgrade of another.
Downer chief executive officer Grant Fenn said the award is another endorsement of the company’s experience and leadership in delivering renewable energy projects.
“We are looking forward to delivering the project in partnership with Alinta Energy,” Mr Fenn said.
“We are expecting an efficient integration of the solar farm and supporting power infrastructure into Alinta Energy’s existing network in the Pilbara.”
Alinta Energy managing director and chief executive officer Jeff Dimery said the two companies were working together to show how the mine sites of the future could be powered.
“Working together, we are on the cusp of demonstrating that renewables can drive Australia’s economic powerhouses forward – even for remote and complex industrial applications,” he said.
The project is expected to be completed in the first half of 2021.
