Project Update Week ending 26 July 2019 Numurkah Solar Farm begins full scale commercial operations 19 July Downer has completed work on the 128MW Downer’s Executive General Manager for Numurkah Solar Farm (Numurkah), located Renewables and Power Systems, Lena Parker, approximately 220 kilometres north of said, “We are proud to have partnered with Melbourne. Neoen. It has been a massive collaborative effort with all of our partners to deliver this The Numurkah Solar Farm is owned and solar farm which will provide significant operated by Neoen, one of the world’s environmental and economic benefits for the leading and fastest growing independent community.” producers of exclusively renewable energy. The site was officially opened today at an For more information on the Numurkah Solar inauguration event by The Hon. Lily Farm Project, please visit: D’Ambrosio, Victorian Minister for Energy, https://numurkahsolarfarm.com.au/ Environment and Climate Change. Source: Downer Located on the Goulburn Valley Highway in northern Victoria, the $198 million Neoen- owned and developed 128MW solar farm is PROJECT NEWS the largest in the state. Pallamana Solar Farm RES Australia has received state government The site holds 373,839 individual solar panels planning consent for its proposed Pallamana and spans 515 hectares across seven parcels Solar Farm near Murray Bridge in South of land. Australia. The project will have a total capacity of up to 176 MW via ~690,000 solar The facility will produce 255 GWh of emission- panels mounted on single axis tracker free, clean, competitive renewable energy per structures, ancillary structures (including annum to help power the Melbourne tram inverters, transformers, underground cabling network, Laverton Steelworks and over and security fencing) and a 66 MW (140 48,000 Victorian households – this output is MWh) Lithium Ion battery facility and ancillary equivalent to taking 77,000 cars off the road structures (including inverters and each year. transformers). A 132kV overhead transmission line will connect to an existing substation. The Numurkah Solar Farm showcases the Victorian Government’s commitment to the renewable energy transition and highlights the vast employment opportunities renewable energy developments bring to regional communities across Australia. Page 1 (Click on relevant project links to go to online Project Database) Australia’s first Virtual new infrastructure and less of a cost impost on energy users large and small. Transmission Line: Victoria – South Australia In determining the location of its Riverland 19 July and Nowingi projects, Lyon strategically Today, the latest in a series of confirmations selected network locations that will benefit of very large grid expenditure that will land the most from local, firm, dispatchable heavily on consumers’ power bills, feels like energy, while providing the greatest range of the right day to make public an alternative revenue streams for the projects. approach that Lyon conceived and commenced developing more than four years Lyon’s large-scale solar and battery storage ago. projects create a new virtual grid operation which provides the option to defer or in some Lyon is now making public its development of cases reduce investment in grid Australia’s first Virtual Transmission Line reinforcements and, based on independent (VTL), with a view to offering an alternative analysis undertaken by Advisian, provides 15% and more optimal approach to network additional transmission capacity which will investment as the Australian energy sector help reduce electricity prices. transitions to a renewable energy future. This concept can be characterised as MurrayLink Viewed as a portfolio, Lyon’s Riverland and 2.0. Nowingi projects provide a combined 180MW/720 MWh of advanced battery Lyon stands apart from most in the storage, located on either side of the existing renewables sector, which will welcome 220MW MurrayLink Interconnector. These AEMO’s announcement today that very large two projects together will deliver rapid transmission infrastructure augmentation will resiliency and boosted energy transfer proceed in Western Victoria. AEMO’s Western capabilities for this crucial transmission Victorian RIT-T Project Assessment corridor. Conclusions Report (PACR)[1] comes only five months after ElectraNet published the PACR The two projects together constitute for the SA Transformation RIT-T in February Australia’s first VTL. In developing these 2019.[2] projects, Lyon is providing an option to lift transmission constraints 10x faster than the Both processes have favoured huge grid time required to construct a new augmentation programs. interconnector and at a fraction of the cost. We don’t deny that the inevitable and Lyon’s VTL solution aligns with AEMO’s escalating shift from reliance on a relatively Integrated System Plan, providing: small number of generators to a patchwork of - Reduced electricity prices by deployment inverter-based generation requires new 10x faster than a transmission solution; network approaches. And it is true that this - Long duration storage to firm renewable will have to include transmission generation; augmentation. - 15% additional transmission capacity, delivering congestion management to unlock However, the interests of consumers are not inter-regional Renewable Energy Zones and well served by embarking on major enable greater interconnector asset augmentation programs without appropriate utilisation; consideration of options that enable - New competition for peaking generation; optimisation before augmentation, the and embrace of which would allow right-sizing of - Resiliency to support power quality through Fast Frequency Response. Page 2 (Click on relevant project links to go to online Project Database) Because of their proximity to the very large [2]https://www.electranet.com.au/wp- new transmission upgrades that will content/uploads/projects/2016/11/SA- commence in 2022, the Riverland and Energy-Transformation-PACR.pdf Nowingi projects stand to benefit from the greater transmission diversity and export [3]https://irena.org/- capacity that will be enabled by /media/Files/IRENA/Agency/Topics/Innovatio implementation of AEMO’s Western Victorian n-and- RIT-T and ElectraNet’s SA Transformation RIT- Technology/IRENA_Landscape_Solution_05.p T. However, an over-reliance on transmission df?la=en&hash=2F3E54D25E74F47E0B1A94EC upgrades is sub-optimal as compared with 551CF1E9E4D2E6E proven solutions such a VTL. Lyon’s VTL option will provide a faster and more optimal Source: Lyon Group outcome leading to reduced electricity costs and enable more accurate investment decisions surrounding the Interconnector Neoen’s Numurkah Solar Farm Regulatory Tests. begins full-scale commercial VTLs can discharge over long durations to operation for its Victorian meet load requirements in the local area during peak hours, without the need for customers transporting electricity through congested 19 July grid lines, then reversing to act as a sink. The ▪ The Numurkah Solar Farm will generate 255 VTL also reduces network congestion and GWh of emission-free, clean, competitive forms virtual power lines to benefit greater renewable energy per annum to power key regional power flows for other renewable infrastructure such as the Melbourne tram generators. network and Laverton steel works ▪ The support of the Victorian government Once completed, the Riverland and Nowingi was instrumental in the success of the projects will represent Australia’s first VTL Numurkah project development. This VTL announcement by ▪ With 128 MWp, Numurkah is the largest Lyon also constitutes the third announced solar farm in Victoria; almost 300 jobs were project of its kind in the world, alongside created in the area during construction Terna’s 35MW BESS in the congested ▪ With this latest project, Neoen confirms its Southern Italy region and RTE’s 36MW BESS in status as Australia’s leading independent France.[3] producer of renewable energy In progressing development of the Riverland Neoen (ISIN Code: FR0011675362, ticker: and Nowingi projects as a VTL, Lyon has NEOEN), one of the world’s leading and worked closely with its advisers to undertake fastest growing independent producers of detailed analysis of the benefits that can be exclusively renewable energy, has today achieved and has inter-reacted with AEMO commenced full-scale commercial operation and the Victorian Government. at its Numurkah Solar Farm in Victoria. The official opening took place with the Hon. Lily [1]https://www.aemo.com.au/Electricity/Nati D’Ambrosio, Victoria Minister for Energy, onal-Electricity-Market-NEM/Planning-and- Environment and Climate Change. forecasting/Victorian-transmission-network- service-provider-role/RITT/Reports-and- The 198 million AUD, 128 MWp solar farm, project-updates owned and developed by Neoen, is the largest in the state of Victoria. With 373,839 solar panels installed, it spans 515 hectares. The facility will produce 255 GWh of emission- free, clean, competitive renewable energy per Page 3 (Click on relevant project links to go to online Project Database) annum – the equivalent of taking 77,000 cars helping us make this project a success. Neoen off the road each year and enough to power will continue to work with its partners, the 48,000 Victorian households. It will power local communities, councils and state Melbourne’s tram network and the Laverton governments to ensure that the people of steel works. Australia enjoy clean, reliable and affordable electricity