Eurus Energy and Windlab hybrid renewable energy facility switches on

The Kennedy Energy Park in Queensland produces clean power throughout the day and night.

Eurus Energy’s first large-scale hybrid renewable energy facility in Australia has started full commercial operations. The Japanese wind developer partnered with Australian renewable energy company Windlab to develop the facility.

The Kennedy Energy Park combines 43.2 MW of wind, 15 MW of solar and a 2 MW/4 MWh battery in a single facility near Hughenden in northwest Queensland.

Eurus Energy will sell the generated electricity to state-owned power company CS Energy under a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).

The project received A$18 million in funding from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) in 2018. The Clean Energy Finance Corporation has also provided A$93.5 million in debt finance for the project. 

Kennedy Energy Park takes advantage of the region’s vast solar and wind resources. On a typical day, the wind resource picks up in the late afternoon and evening after sunset. This enables the project to produce steady, clean power throughout the day and night.

Eurus Energy established its Australian business in 2010 and was the first company to start wind energy development projects in Japan in 1999.

A world leader in renewable energy

Australia has some of the world’s best renewable energy resources. The country is investing in utility-scale solar, onshore and offshore wind projects, and working on a growing pipeline of energy storage and transmission projects.

The Australian Government is also committing significant funding to renewable energy initiatives. These include:

• A$1 billion for the Solar Sunshot program, to develop Australia’s solar PV manufacturing industry.
• A$523.2 million over 7 years in the new Battery Breakthrough Initiative, to help manufacturers move up the battery value chain. This is a key deliverable under Australia’s first National Battery Strategy.
• The expanded Capacity Investment Scheme will deliver 32 GW of renewable energy generation. The scheme will unlock over A$65 billion of renewable energy capacity.

Several international companies are developing large-scale renewable energy projects in Australia:

• Singapore’s Metis Energy is developing a 111 MW solar farm in Queensland.
• The Philippines’ ACEN is developing clean energy projects in Western Australia in partnership with the First Nations Yindjibarndi people.
• France’s Neoen has 3.75 GW of renewable energy assets under construction or in operation. Its operating assets include 3 solar farms and 4 wind farms. 

Renewable energy investors are also securing green PPAs for their projects:

• Neoen will supply BHP with 70 MW, half the power needed to power BHP’s Olympic Dam copper mine, the world’s fourth largest copper mine.
• Denmark’s European Energy will supply Rio Tinto with all the output from its 1.1 GW solar farm being built in Queensland.
• Portugal’s TagEnergy will supply Equinix with 115 MW to power its 17 data centres across Australia.

Find out more about Australia’s renewable energy sector.

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