Elecnor has signed the contract, through a 50/50 joint venture with Australian group Clough, to build the EnergyConnect project, which includes 700 kilometres of high voltage lines and 4 substations, worth a total of EUR 917 million.
EnergyConnect will be Australia’s biggest electricity interconnector built to date in the National Electricity Market and it will help to accelerate Australia’s energy transition by connecting customers with more renewable generation. The project will also help to abate an estimated one million tonnes of carbon emissions each year contributing significantly to meeting Australia’s climate change targets. Project EnergyConnect will build the critical electricity transmission infrastructure that will save NSW customers $180 million a year and create 1,500 new construction jobs in regional NSW.
TransGrid’s Project EnergyConnect is building backbone infrastructure for the future South West NSW Renewable Energy Zone, enabling connection of a further 4950MW of generation capacity. Project construction is expected to begin in the western NSW section in late 2021 and commissioning will be underway in 2023.
Elecnor in Australia
Elecnor began operations in Australia in 2014 and has since been involved in the construction of 4 solar plants with a combined power capacity of 372 MW, consolidating itself as a leading company in turnkey projects through engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contracts. Elecnor was recently awarded the turnkey (EPC) contract for the first phase of the New England Solar Farm solar hybrid project, which entails the start-up of 400 MW.