The 90MWac Sebastopol Solar Farm, owned by FRV Australia, has begun its initial hold point testing process and is expected to achieve full commercial operations in the coming months.
During the nine-month construction period, Beon invested over $11 million directly into the local region, with numerous businesses from Junee, Temora and Wagga Wagga council areas engaged and providing significant local employment opportunities throughout the construction phase.
Beon’s General Manager, Glen Thomson, congratulated Sebastopol Solar Farm owner FRV Australia, local workers and businesses that supported the construction on their commitment to reach this important milestone.
“To complete the project on time in the middle of a global pandemic and significant COVID-19 outbreaks in New South Wales and Victoria, with an outstanding safety performance throughout highlights the commitment and skills of all of the workers and businesses involved. Beon is extremely proud to have delivered another large-scale renewable project for this region,” Mr Thomson said.
Beon employed more than 200 workers through the construction phase of the project, this included the employment of 73 locals, many of whom were previously unemployed.
Mr Thomson said renewable energy projects would continue to be deployed in regional areas and the Sebastopol project is yet further proof that the energy transition can provide significant benefits to regional communities. He also congratulated FRV on their continued commitment to expanding their renewable energy footprint in Australia.
Carlo Frigerio, Managing Director of FRV in Australia, said: “This is a great milestone for Sebastopol Solar Farm and we would like to congratulate Beon for this achievement and ability to reach this stage of the project maintaining high work and safety standards during these challenging COVID 19 times. We now look forward to see the plant at full generation in the coming months”.
About FRV Australia
FRV Australia is one of the largest solar developers, asset owners and renewable energy platforms in Australia and one of the first solar developers to enter the Australian market and the first company to deliver a project-financed large scale solar farm in Australia with the Royalla Solar Farm near Canberra operating since August 2014. The company has developed almost 800MWdc of Australian PV assets built or under construction across 9 projects for a total project investment value of over 1 billion dollars.
FRV Australia’s activities are based in Sydney and the company has a multidisciplinary team of over 40 employees. With the ambition to continue leading the global transition to a more sustainable energy future, FRV Australia has evolved from being just a developer to becoming an independent power producer.
The company is owned by Abdul Latif Jameel Energy, a world leader in the development of sustainable energy solutions and, upon completion of the transaction signed in October 2021 it will be 49% owned by OMERS Infrastructure, a global leader in infrastructure investing on behalf of OMERS, one of Canada’s largest defined benefit pension funds. For more information, please visit: frv.com
About Beon Energy Solutions
Beon Energy Solutions is a future-focused energy solutions business with a heritage in safety and reliability delivered through a dedicated team of energy experts that bring to projects a commitment to safety, performance and reliability as well as a desire to drive and embrace change.
Beon provides end-to-end solutions for our clients, including; asset ownership options, engineering, design, construction, project management and commissioning of electrical infrastructure, with a significant focus on deployment of renewable generation and supporting the delivery of Australia’s energy transition.
Beon’s experience includes services on more than $3b of Australian utility assets including; transmission and distribution infrastructure, the construction or connection of nearly 2 GW of renewable assets (utility scale and behind the meter) and more recently numerous solar farm operations & maintenance activities.