Cimic (ACS) acquires a solar park in Queensland (Australia)

MADRID, 17 Ago. (EUROPA PRESS) -

Cimic, an Australian subsidiary of ACS, has acquired a solar project in the Australian state of Queensland through its company Pacific Partnerships, the company reported on Thursday.

Specifically, Cimic has acquired the development rights to the 300 megawatt peak (MWdc) Hopeland solar park, this being the second large-scale solar project owned by its subsidiary Pacific Partnerships and the first that it has purchased in Queensland.

Through its energy business, Pacific Partnerships Energy, the company will develop, invest in, and manage the delivery and operations of the Hopeland solar farm.

The Hopeland project is located 290 kilometers west of Brisbane, on the Darling Downs, a region that is listed by the Queensland Energy and Jobs Scheme as having high-quality solar resources.

In fact, the area has about 2.2 gigawatts (GW) of committed renewable energy projects and another 11 gigawatts of renewable energy in southern Queensland.

The executive president of the Cimic group, Juan Santamaría, has highlighted his company's commitment to support Queensland's energy transition and to the development of large-scale renewable generation assets.

"Queensland is a strategic focus as we expand our diversified national portfolio of energy and utility assets and contribute to Queensland's Energy and Jobs Plan for 70% of electricity use to come from renewables by 2032 and 80% in 2035", he explained.

For his part, the managing director of Pacific Partnerships, Simon Nicholls, stressed that the development of the Hopeland solar park in the South Queensland Renewable Energy Zone (QREZ) will support the energy transformation of this Australian state, create jobs , will diversify the economy and reduce emissions.

"We are delighted to have reached this milestone. The solar park will have the potential to generate enough stand-alone electricity to power approximately 100,000 medium-sized homes in Queensland and its strategic location close to the Western Downs substation makes it ideal for co-location. of a potential 175MW/350MWh battery storage system", he added.

Cimic has acquired the Hopeland solar park from Renewable Energy Partners, a Brisbane-based company that originates and promotes Australian renewable energy projects.

In this sense, the general director and CEO of Renewable Energy Partners, Luke McDonald, has pointed out that the acquisition of the development rights of the Hopeland park by Pacific Partnerships "provides a high degree of certainty for the successful completion of the project and the long-term generation of quality renewable energy for Queensland".

Currently, Pacific Partnerships is carrying out the first works within the framework of the development of the project and collaborates with UGL, another company of the CIMIC group, to support this phase. Engineering, contracting and construction will be handled by Pacific Partnerships, with operations and renewable energy generation expected to begin in 2026.