The Fyles Government has signed a memorandum of understanding with Larrakia Energy and the Korea Midland Power Co to build a 300MW solar power plant to purportedly provide electricity to nearby gas plants, but the government has refused to provide details of the agreement.
LDC chairman Mark Motlop has previously said the plant would be built on Larrakia country near Bladin Point with construction scheduled to start this year, with electricity to be sold to the Inpex and Darwin LNG gas plants next year. The gas plants generate their own electricity using gas.
NT Infrastructure Planning and Logistics Minister Eva Lawler said in a statement this week that the two-year agreement “strengthens local and international ties and formalises the relationship with the Territory” to complement the proponent’s own expertise.
LDC chief executive officer Nigel Browne could not be reached to provide details of the MOU, and the project, but in a statement last November Mr Motlop said negotiations with the NT Government would work to support the project by enabling Larrakia Energy to build the project and also construct a dedicated transmission line direct to the proposed Middle Arm industrial area.
Larrakia Energy is a joint venture owned and managed by the Larrakia Development Corporation and the Western Australia based renewable energy company, Progressive Green Solutions. Korea Midland Power Co is part of the Korea Electric Power Corporation, which is a power generation company under the majority ownership of the South Korean government.
Ms Lawler did not respond to questions about the MOU and the project.
Neither said how big the site would be, or how much the plant would cost, but a 300MW solar farm announced for NSW was reported by the ABC to be 600ha costing $400 million to build. Another 316MW plant announced in NSW was reported to take up 590ha, while a 300MW solar farm announced in Queensland was expected to take up 540ha of land.
The government aims to lift the proportion of renewable energy in the Darwin-Katherine electricity system, with a target of 50 per cent renewable energy by the end of the decade, towards zero net emissions by 2050.
In early July, the latest Utilities Commission of the Northern Territory report warned blackouts in the Darwin‑Katherine power system will occur within three years unless the government deals with the anticipated nearly 50 per cent reduction in peak electricity generation capacity from the Channel Island power station shutting down.
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