News

EDP Renewables Australia (EDPR) has been active over the last month or two acquiring a 400 MW solar farm project, submitting a development application for a mid-scale project, and starting construction of a community project.

The largest of these is Punchs Creek Renewable Energy Project Stage 1, located near Millmerran in Queensland’s Darling Downs region, which EDPR recently acquired from original developer Skylab Australia.

Punchs Creek Stage 1 is an approved 400 MW AC plus 400 MW / 1600 MWh battery energy storage system project, to be constructed within a development area of approximately 1345ha.

The final size and layout of the facility will be determined during detailed design stages.

The project will be connected to the existing Powerlink 330kV electricity transmission line Millmerran – Middle Ridge feeder which transects the proposed project site.

SkyLab Australia has retained development rights to stage 2, with another 400 MW AC solar farm planned.

In NSW EDPR has submitted a development application for two 5 MW solar farms with battery energy storage systems located in Blayney, in the Central West region.

The project is comprised of two sites referred to as 4C and 7C, with each containing about 5 MW of solar capacity and 10 MWh of BESS capacity.

Pending approvals, construction is expected to take about four months.

Once fully operational, the overall project will include approximately 20,600 solar panels and is expected to generate approximately 32,000 MWh of electricity annually, offsetting around 53% of Blayney’s energy consumption according to EDPR Australia.

The project is under assessment by the Blayney Shire Council and was placed on public exhibition ending 5 September 2025.

Blayney Solar Farm is one of a number of “town-sized” projects EDPR Australia took on when it acquired ITP Developments’ portfolio in early 2024 to expand in the Australian industry.

At a smaller scale again, EDPR has started construction of its 6.8 MW DC Yiray Clean Energy Park, formerly called the Orange Community Renewable Energy Park, also in NSW’s Central West region.

Jointly owned with OCREP Co-operative, the project also includes a 10.5 MWh capacity BESS and is Australia's largest community co-owned solar and battery hybrid clean energy park by investment capital.

Yiray Clean Energy Park features 11,676 solar panels, four BESS containers, an on-site substation, and an 11kV power line and switching station connecting the project to Essential Energy’s power line.