Epuron is pleased to announce that Eni Australia, part of the global energy company Eni SpA, has acquired the 33.7MWp Katherine solar project.

The Katherine solar project is a joint development between Epuron and Island Green Power, a UK-based solar specialist. It is the first large scale solar farm in the Northern Territory and will make a material contribution to the NT Government’s 50% renewable energy target.

“We would like to acknowledge the ongoing involvement of Jacana Energy and Power & Water Corporation”, said Martin Poole, Epuron Executive Director.

Epuron Senior Project Manager Anthony Melov said "We are delighted to see Eni Australia continue with the Katherine solar project. Eni is an experienced energy company and is well placed to construct the project. This is an important milestone for the solar farm which, when completed, will be the largest in the Northern Territory".

The Katherine solar project is expected to enter construction in the next few weeks with commercial operation to commence before the end of 2019.

Electricity for the project will be supplied under a long term power purchase agreement which Epuron negotiated with Northern Territory electricity retailer Jacana Energy.

The project will include a battery energy storage system with a capacity of 6 MVA / 3 MWh and, to ensure optimum operational performance, Fulcrum3D’s innovative CloudCAM cloud coverage predicting technology will also be installed. Thanks to these technologies, the plant will be able to forecast its output and smoother variations in solar irradiation by taking energy from the storage system and minimize the impact to the grid.

Epuron will maintain an ongoing role in the project once it is operational.