Nouvelle de professionAGL Energy Ltd., an Australian company seeking federal government funding to develop solar power plants, said a proposed 100-megawatt venture in New South Wales state would cost A$350 million ($347 million) to build.
AGL, the country’s largest electricity and gas retailer, aims to develop as many as five projects using photo-voltaic panels that convert sunlight into power, a filing with the New South Wales planning department shows. The farms may have a total capacity of 200 megawatts at multiple sites, AGL said.
The Australian government in May selected Sydney-based AGL, TRUenergy Holdings Pty Ltd. and BP Plc to advance in a competition for funding from a A$1.5 billion solar power program. A joint proposal from China’s Suntech Power Holdings Co. and Australia’s Infigen Energy was also shortlisted.
Australia, where coal accounts for more than 80 percent of electricity production, has set a target of generating 20 percent of its power from wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable energy sources by 2020. Prime Minister Julia Gillard in September set up a multi-party committee to study options for introducing a price on carbon to help curb emissions.
The solar ventures proposed by AGL depend on the company winning government funding, spokeswoman Karen Winsbury said in an e-mail response to questions today. The 100-megawatt solar project near Nyngan, northwest of Sydney, would generate more than 150 construction jobs and take about 12 months to build, AGL said.
The power producer fell 0.3 percent to A$15.71 at the 4:10 p.m. close in Sydney. The benchmark S&P/ASX 200 Index rose 0.3 percent.
The New South Wales government on Nov. 18 set requirements for AGL to meet before the power producer submits an environmental assessment report, the documents show.
BP estimated a proposed 150-megawatt project in New South Wales would cost more than A$600 million, the London-based company said in documents filed with the planning department.
