Octopus Australia has announced the acquisition of an additional 28,000 hectares of land near Deniliquin, New South Wales, as part of its development plans for the Merino Wind Farm, projected to generate 1GW of power.
This new land parcel, situated adjacent to Octopus's existing 400MW Saltbush Wind Farm, brings the company's total secured land holdings in the South-West NSW Renewable Energy Zone (SW-NSW REZ) to 35,000 hectares.
Octopus intends to complement these wind projects with large-scale solar and battery storage facilities, creating a robust renewable energy generation infrastructure in the region. The strategic positioning of the additional land provides the opportunity for future connection to key transmission lines, enhancing Octopus's competitiveness in upcoming Access Rights Tenders.
In response to the Australian government's ambition to establish the country as a renewable energy superpower, Octopus views its multi-billion-dollar wind projects as pivotal in achieving this goal and advancing progress towards net-zero emissions.
Darren Brown, co-managing director at Octopus Australia, emphasized the significance of the acquisition, stating, “The acquisition marks a major milestone in Octopus Australia's strategy to build a portfolio of energy assets which model what a future clean energy generation base will look like in Australia.”
He further highlighted the integrated nature of Octopus's energy portfolio, combining wind, solar, and storage developments across the National Electricity Market (NEM) to offer innovative Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) products and deliver sustainable value to investors.
