Octopus Australia has officially broken ground on its $900 million Blind Creek Solar Farm and Battery project located in Bungendore, New South Wales.
The project combines a 300MW solar farm with a 243MW/486MWh battery, capturing energy during the day and dispatching it into the evening peak when demand is highest. By pairing solar generation with storage, it produces firmed renewable electricity that gives customers price certainty and confidence in delivery.
Blind Creek was initiated in partnership with local sheep farmers seeking to integrate agriculture with energy production as a means to future-proof their property, and local community.
Related article: Octopus Australia to build nation’s biggest battery in NSW
The solar farm has specifically been designed to allow animal production to continue on the land, as it has for 155 years, with a boost in grazing capability also expected as a result of protection from winds, partial shading, condensation and organic soil improvements coming from the project.
The project will connect via a new substation into the transmission backbone between Sydney and Canberra.
NSW Premier Chris Minns and Minister for Skills, TAFE and Tertiary Education and Member for Monaro Steve Whan attended the project’s sod-turning ceremony.
Minns said, “This is the kind of project New South Wales needs as we replace ageing energy infrastructure. We need to keep the lights on, keep costs as low as possible, and to keep regional communities with us along the way.
“The Blind Creek project is creating local jobs, and it will help deliver the replacement energy that households and businesses rely on.”
Octopus Australia CEO Sam Reynolds said, “This project shows what happens when global capital, Australian super and regional farming families align under stable government policy. You get real infrastructure, real clean electricity and real jobs.
“Octopus Australia’s strategy is designed precisely for this, to align long-term capital with regional communities and deliver bankable projects.”
Related article: Octopus reaches financial close on Blind Creek Solar & BESS
Project construction is being led by EPC Contractor GRS, with Wärtsilä Energy Storage supplying the battery energy storage system (BESS).
Blind Creek Solar Farm and Battery is due to be fully operational in 2028.
