1. 15MWac UTILITY SCALE SOLAR FARM
Municipal Association of Victoria
12th July 2016

2. THE PROJECT Sunshine Coast Council 100% Financing a 15MWac PV build
Located within SCC boundary
Grid connected
Initially provide 30GWh power annually
Exhaustive 4 year process
Reached Financial Close
EOI/Tender process for D&C and O&M
Construction is underway

3. THE PLAN

4. THE DRIVERS Renewable Policy Is Policy at all Cost?
Climate Change & Peak Oil Strategy
Energy Transition Plan
Rural Futures Strategy
Regional Economic Development Strategy
Is Policy at all Cost?
‘Traditional’ Renewable Project delivery not financially viable
PPAs, commercial providers, Green Power etc
Renewables Policy created an ‘Investment Problem’

5. FRAMING THE BACKDROP

6. FRAMING THE BACKDROP
Can enough be saved on energy usage to justify Investment?

7. THE ALTERNATIVE

8. THE ALTERNATIVE

9. THE ALTERNATIVE

10. LGAs – THE IDEAL RENWABLE INVESTOR
Council is its own customer
Removes margin and credit risk making it cheaper
Not a selective use of capital
One way or another electricity usage is going to cost ~$80million
Low financing costs
Council is not looking for excess returns
Longer-term view
Economic and Social benefits
No value to a commercial player

11. THE CHALLENGES Community concerns
Visual Amenity
Property Value Impact
“How can Council do this if a commercial player cannot’
Site location is a critical constraint
Grid connection is key & cheap land comes with it’s own issues
Grant Funding
General scepticism
Managing the internal decision process

12. THE BENEFITS Exceeding Community endorsed Policy aims (with Savings!)
SCC - 100% green power (~30GWh annually)
Reinforcing Sustainable Regional Credentials
Drives local investment and growth
Leverage natural Social & Environmental benefits
Budget for a learning/R&D centre with Education programs, school visits
Near term/follow on Economic investment
Cleantech sector investment encouraged
Strengthen Academic ties

13. CONTACT
Gary Kelly Director – Resource Analytics Mobile: