This is indeed a big win for Octopus Australia. They are responsible for the fast-tracked approval process for the Blind Creek solar farm and battery project, located 32 kilometers northeast of Canberra. This facility will be the renewable energy game changer for the region. It will feature a 300 megawatt (MW) solar farm and a state-of-the-art 243 MW/486 megawatt hours (MWh) battery storage system. The facility will produce 140 MW of renewable electricity annually. This renewable power will provide energy for the equivalent of 120,000 homes and businesses.
In comparison, the Blind Creek project is valued at over $850 million. It is the biggest renewable energy initiative to achieve this level of development within the National Electricity Market (NEM). This approval now adds to this historic list the most important grid connection agreement, Generator Performance Standards (GPS). This agreement allows the facility to connect quite literally with the national power grid.
Blind Creek taps into the latest innovative direct current (DC)-coupled hybrid technology. This cutting-edge solution integrates solar energy and battery storage to harness and store the clean energy produced during the day. That stored energy will be dispatched in the form of kilowatt-hours at the peak of the evening electric demand. It gets the most efficient energy supply and uses it when demand is peak.
Blind Creek forms part of Octopus Energy Generation’s wider commitment to developing renewable projects in Asia. The $30M project routes this money through the Sky fund ORI SCSp. Octopus Energy Generation administers this fund, further demonstrating the company’s long-term strategic focus on sustainable energy solutions.
Construction of the Blind Creek facility is scheduled to begin in Q3 2025. Once it’s up and running, this program will be a major force for reducing carbon emissions. When applied broadly, it will help deploy cleaner energy sources across the country.