SA Water to Achieve Zero Cost Energy Future with More Than 500,000 New Solar Panels

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SA Water to Achieve Zero Cost Energy Future with More Than 500,000 New Solar Panels

SA Water has awarded a framework agreement contract for up to $304 million to South Australian company Enerven, to deploy approximately 154 megawatts (MW) of new solar photovoltaic generation and 34-megawatt hours of energy storage, across around 70 of its sites over the next 18 months.

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L-R: Gary Treloar - Site Supervisor, Zach Tariq - Project Manager, Roch Cheroux - CEO SA Water, 
Paul Farnworth - Program Director, Richard Amato - General Manager Enerven (Image source: Enerven)

The investment in more than 500,000 solar panels is expected to deliver a return on investment in six years, and help SA Water reach its ambitious goal of achieving zero net electricity costs from 2020.

It is expected that over 250 local jobs will be supported through this project. Enerven’s operations span the state of South Australia and its heritage as a subsidiary of SA Power Networks has fostered strong relationships with regional businesses and communities. Enerven’s program office will consist of local employees, new and current, as we draw upon the support of South Australian metropolitan and regional businesses to deliver site establishment and construction works across civil and electrical disciplines.

“We are thrilled to have been awarded this contract, and to be continuing work on this important project with SA Water,” said Enerven General Manager Richard Amato.

“Like Enerven, SA Water has a long history in South Australia and cares about its long-term future,” he said.

Installation of the new solar arrays will take priority, with energy storage devices to follow after the results of trials with traditional and thermal devices have determined the most suitable technology combinations.

This investment will increase the total of SA Water’s solar generation capacity to approximately 160 MW, which exceeds that of many large-scale commercial solar projects, and will complement a range of other existing energy initiatives like biogas and hydroelectric generation, and trading as a market participant.

Enerven is currently completing the first phase of the project, installing just over 4MW of ground mount solar at three of SA Water’s largest facilities, which is due to be completed early 2019.

Source: Enerven, SA Water

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