Construction company CIMIC Group’s subsidiary Pacific Partnerships has acquired development rights for the 300MW Hopeland solar plant in Queensland, Australia, from the project's originator, Renewable Energy Partners.
Hopeland solar plant is the second large-scale solar project to be owned and developed by Pacific Partnerships, and will be located 290km west of Brisbane in the Darling Downs.
Set to begin operations in 2026, the solar plant will generate enough clean electricity to meet the needs of 100,000 homes in Queensland.
This project is also expected to be co-located with a potential 175MW/350 megawatt-hour battery energy storage system, due to its proximity to the Western Downs substation.
The Darling Downs region includes high-quality solar resources, with nearly 2.2GW of committed renewable energy projects in the pipeline and 11GW more targeted in the Southern Queensland Renewable Energy Zones.
CIMIC Group executive chairman Juan Santamaria stated: “Queensland is a strategic focus as we expand our diversified national portfolio of energy and utility assets and contribute to the Queensland Energy and Jobs Plan for 70% of electricity consumption to be sourced from renewables by 2032, and 80% by 2035.”
The solar plant will be built by Pacific Partnerships’ energy business Pacific Partnerships Energy. It will develop, invest, manage, deliver and conduct operations at the Hopeland solar plant.
Pacific Partnerships managing director Simon Nicholls stated: “Development of the Hopeland Solar Farm within the Southern Queensland Renewable Energy Zone (QREZ) will support Queensland’s energy transformation, deliver jobs, diversify the economy and lower emissions.”
Pacific Partnerships is conducting early works as part of the project’s development. It will manage the engineering, procurement, construction and renewable energy generation.
