Decmil awarded $277m contract for NSW solar project

Maoneng Australia has reached financial close for the 255 MW Sunraysia solar farm and has announced Decmil Group as the head contractor.

Under the $277 million engineering, procurement and construction contract, Decmil will also undertake the operations and maintenance of the solar farm in Balranald, NSW. Maoneng will act as both the construction manager and the asset manager throughout this time.

The Sunraysia solar farm is predicted to be one of Australia’s biggest utility-scale solar PV projects and, once completed, one of the largest solar farms in the world, according to Maoneng.

At peak construction, the project could bring up to 400 jobs to Balranald, creating significant economic growth and opportunities for the local community.

Decmil Managing Director and Group CEO Scott Criddle said, “Both organisations bring together complimentary skills to successfully deliver this project to the Australian renewable energy market. Decmil has for over 40 years successfully delivered major regional infrastructure and, following a detailed planning process, is operationally ready to deliver this project.”

Maoneng Group Executive Chairman and CEO Morris Zhou said the company is “one of the first companies to have successfully developed, built and owned a utility-scale solar PV plant in Australia. Our mission is to assist Australia’s transition towards a low-carbon society through the development of sustainable social infrastructure.”

The Sunraysia project is Maoneng’s second significant project in the Australian market and Decmil’s second and biggest EPC contract, after the Gullen Solar farm.

The project has power purchase agreements with the University of New South Wales, which will help it realise its goal of carbon neutrality on energy use by 2020, and AGL Energy, in an effort to transition towards cleaner and more affordable energy.

Maoneng has entered into a long-term equity partnership with John Laing Group for the investment and development of the Sunraysia project. Debt financing has been secured from Nord L/B, ING, National Australia Bank, Mizuho Bank and Bank of China.

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