Large Scale Solar

On the 10th of March 2009, the Premier of Victoria John Brumby announced support for the establishment of a large scale solar power station (see Media Release).

Victoria will assess project funding proposals based on a competitive request for proposals process. Parties who wish to participate in this process should complete the Request for Proposals (RFP) (PDF 223KB) document to largescale.solar@dpi.vic.gov.au or in hard copy to:

Victorian Large Scale Solar Electricity Generation Project
Department of Primary Industries
Tender Box Level 16
1 Spring Street
MELBOURNE VIC 3000
AUSTRALIA

Proposals must address the conditions specified in the RFP document. These include, among other things, that the final power station be capable of delivering 330GWh of electricity to the National Electricity Market, must be located in Victoria, and must receive matching Commonwealth funding. It is anticipated that this funding will be provided through the recently announced $1.6 billion Solar Flagships initiative (PDF 926KB).

RFP - Victorian Large Scale Solar Project time line extension

The Victorian Large Scale Solar Project - Request for Proposals was released on 9 April 2009. Since the release of the Request for Proposals, a number of changes to Commonwealth Government policy have taken place which materially impact on the RFP. These changes include delays to the introduction of the Carbon Pollution Reduction Scheme (CPRS) and Renewable Energy Target (RET) legislation. They also include the 12 May 2009 announcement of the Solar Flagship Program, which replaces prior funding initiatives which were available for large-scale solar projects.

In view of this situation, the Victorian Government wishes to advise that a new deadline for proposals will be established for the Victorian Large Scale Solar Project - Request for Proposals. This new deadline is to be six weeks after the guidelines for the Commonwealth Solar Flagships Programs are made available. The precise date for submission of responses for the Victorian Large Scale Solar Project will be confirmed formally once known. This delay will allow the Victorian Government to complete its process and work with the winning Victorian project to seek Federal funding.

No other changes to the Victorian Large Scale Solar Project - Request for Proposals are envisaged at this point.

Stakeholders are advised to check for updates at www.dpi.vic.gov.au/largescalesolar. Stakeholders who have identified themselves to DPI will also be advised directly by email.

Stakeholder Consultation

A workshop for potential applicants to the Victorian Large Scale Solar project was held in Melbourne on Friday 15 May 2009. Approximately 80 representatives from a wide range of stakeholders attended. Workshop presentations are attached below:

Agenda (PDF 19KB)
Introduction (PDF 582KB)
Energy Overview (PDF 521KB)
National Energy Market (PDF 944 KB)
Carbon Trading (PDF 213KB)
Renewable Energy Target (PDF 218KB)
Large Scale Solar Project (PDF 546KB)
Environment and Planning Approvals (PDF 302KB)
Victorian Energy Networks (PDF 276KB)
Victoria's Solar Resource (PDF 2.0MB)
Other Issues (PDF 632KB)

Commonwealth Solar Flagships

In July 2009 the Commonwealth called for submissions from interested stakeholders on the development of the business case for the Solar Flagship Program. The Department of Primary Industries subsequently met with Commonwealth officers and their agents, and made a formal submission in August 2009.

All inquiries regarding the Large Scale Solar project should be directed to: largescale.solar@dpi.vic.gov.au. Inquiries relating to the Solar Flagship program should be directed to the Commonwealth Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism.

Solar Data

Satelite-derived data on Victoria's solar resource is publicly available from the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.

The State Electricity Commission of Victoria (SECV) operated a number of solar ground monitoring stations from 1993-1996. This historic data (ZIP 1.5MB) is available for Mildura, Albury and Bendigo.

Further acquisition of publicly-available solar data will be undertaken through the Victorian-Queensland Solar Atlas Initiative.

Participants

Parties intending to participate in the RFP process or looking to develop partnerships to respond to the RFP, may make their intentions known to the public by posting information to largescale.solar@dpi.vic.gov.au. A brief summary of the company's details will be posted to this site, participants.

The declaration in the RFP document (Appendix 7) must be signed and returned to DPI prior to the information being posted.

Solar Energy Fact Sheet