A DUBBO-BASED solar project has been shortlisted for millions of dollars in federal funding.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The Dubbo Solar Hub is among eight projects in NSW and 22 in Australia selected to go through to the final bid stage for $100 million to be provided by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The government funding to build large-scale solar projects comes as the industry chases costs down to match or potentially beat wind power.
The shortlisted projects, which include French company Neoen's proposed 22.4 megawatt (MW) Dubbo Solar Hub and its proposed solar farms at Parkes and Griffith, were chosen from 77 expressions of interest.
AGL Energy, owner of Australia's two largest utility-scale photovoltaic plants at Nyngan and Broken Hill which received government funding in 2013, was not on the shortlist.
The government funding program was intended to drive the development of about 200MW of large-scale solar, which would almost double capacity to 440MW, enough to power 120,000 homes, according to federal Environment Minister Greg Hunt, who announced the shortlist on Thursday.
Last month Neoen held presentations in Dubbo and Narromine to give local residents the chance to learn more about the renewable energy project it said was expected to bring economic benefits to the region.
Neoen wants to install about 82,000 solar panels on 40 hectares of land east of Dubbo and 25 hectares to the north of Narromine.
Securing the ARENA funding would mean construction of the Dubbo Solar Hub could start by late 2016, according to a company spokesperson.
But Neoen was confident the project was a good chance to proceed, albeit in a longer timeframe, without the funding.
ARENA chief executive Ivor Frischknecht said the keen interest in the funding round showed "Australia is serious about deploying large-scale solar and capitalising on its abundant solar resources".
Shortlisted projects had until June 15, 2016 to make full applications to ARENA for funding, with a maximum of $30 million available per project. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation also had a $250 million large-scale solar financing program available for projects.
