Green Plains : Spain's Iberdrola buys Australian solar farm project from RES Group

(Reuters) - Spanish utility company Iberdrola has bought the Avonlie solar farm project in Australia's New South Wales from Renewable Energy Systems Group, the British developer said, without disclosing the deal amount.

It is RES's largest ever solar project, which once fully operational will have 450,000 solar panels and will generate electricity for 80,000 homes in the east coast state.

The construction is expected to begin later this year and will create more than 230 full-time local jobs during construction, RES said.

The project will help avoid over 157,000 tonnes of carbon each year and had won approval from the state government in 2019.

"The optimised portfolio of Avonlie project will enable Iberdrola to provide its growing customer base with long-term electricity contracts that are at once reliable, affordable and clean," Ross Rolfe, chief executive of Iberdrola Australia, said.

(Reporting by Riya Sharma; Editing by Arun Koyyur)