Photon Energy Commissions 14.6 Mwp Utility-Scale Solar Farms in Australia
August 10, 2021 at 05:34 am EDT
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Photon Energy N.V. announced that it has commissioned its first utility-scale photovoltaic (PV) power plants in Australia, with a combined capacity of 14.6 MWp. Located in Leeton, New South Wales, the two facilities expand the Group's installed base in Australia to 14.7 MWp, and its total proprietary portfolio of PV power plants to 89.3 MWp. The municipality of Leeton is located in the heart of the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area, famous for the production of wine and citrus fruits. It is also an area of significant energy use; energy which has traditionally been generated by large coal power plants located hundreds of kilometers away. Representing the first Australian utility-scale PV power plants in the Group's IPP portfolio, both solar farms use bi-facial PV modules mounted on single-axis trackers, and are connected to the grid owned and operated by Essential Energy as a non-scheduled generator. The plants are expected to produce approximately 27.8 GWh of clean electricity per year. The electicity will be sold on the National Electricity Market on a merchant basis, as will the Large Generation Certificates (LGCs) generated by the plant. This means no power purchase agreements (PPAs) have been entered into by the Company. However, they may play a role in the plants' future revenue management strategy, alongside other hedging options. Photon Energy developed the projects in-house and delivered engineering, procurement and construction services through its subsidiary Photon Energy Engineering Australia Pty Ltd. The Group's subsidiary Photon Energy Operations Australia Pty Ltd. will provide long-term monitoring and operations and maintenance services to both power plants.
Photon Energy N.V. is specialized in the development, construction and operation of photovoltaic power plants. In addition, the group offers water-related services. The turnover (before elimination of intragroup revenue) is divided across the following activities:
- ownership and management of photovoltaic power plants (53.4%): at the end of 2021, 87 photovoltaic power plants owned with an installed capacity of 90.5 MWp;
- trading in photovoltaic system components (22.9%);
- engineering, development and construction of turnkey photovoltaic systems (15.3%);
- technical management, maintenance and control of facilities (7.1%): management of photovoltaic power plants with an installed capacity of 309 MWp;
- other (1.3%): development of solar projects and water treatment services, remediation of contaminated land, management of wells and other water resources, etc.
The geographical breakdown of the turnover is as follows: Czech Republic (60.4%), Hungary (19.7%), Australia (16.4%), Slovakia (2.5%) and other (1%).
PHOTON ENERGY N.V. 
