First Solar has awarded Downer EDI the $150 million engineering, procurement and construction contract for the 87MWac Beryl Solar Farm near Gulgong, New South Wales.
According to an ASX release from Downer, the solar farm will generate electricity with no water use, no air, no waste production and with the smallest carbon footprint of any photovoltaic technology available when in use.
When completed, the 260,000 advanced solar modules on the Beryl Solar Farm will produce energy to run approximately 25,000 average NSW homes, displacing more than 167,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year.
“Large scale projects are critical to our regional communities and we are looking forward to partnering with First Solar to deliver the Beryl Solar Farm that will see significant economic and environmental benefits in regional New South Wales,” said Grant Fenn, Chief Executive Officer of Downer.
“This includes direct and indirect job creation, support for local businesses, and the development of skills in a growing renewable sector.”
First Solar’s Vice President of Asia Pacific, Steven Jackson congratulated Downer on the award.
“We look forward to working with Downer to successfully deliver the project. The Beryl Solar Farm will be one of the first large scale renewable projects to use First Solar’s Series 6 thin film photovoltaic modules,” he said.
“Series 6 modules deliver more watts per connection than crystalline silicon modules. This enables Downer to realise construction cost savings while maximising the energy production for the project site, resulting in a lower levelised cost of energy.”
Construction is expected to take 12 months.
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