European Energy has secured planning approval for the Upper Calliope solar farm near Gladstone in Australia’s Queensland state, clearing a key regulatory hurdle for the renewable energy project, the company said.
The approval allows the project to move into final design, grid connection processes and construction planning. Electricity generated by the solar farm is intended to supply Rio Tinto’s industrial operations in Queensland, including aluminium smelting and alumina refining in the Gladstone region.
European Energy said the project’s full output has been contracted to Rio Tinto under a 25-year power purchase agreement, providing long-term revenue certainty once the project is operational.
“With planning approval now in place, we can move ahead with the Upper Calliope project – one of the largest projects European Energy has undertaken to date,” said Catriona McLeod, the company’s vice president and country manager for Australia. “It’s an exciting and important step and our experienced team will now move on to the next phase of development.”
With planning approval secured, the project has entered an advanced stage of development. Remaining milestones include finalising grid connections, procurement and making a final investment decision, the company said.
“Securing planning approval materially advances the Upper Calliope project and reduces execution risk,” said Thorvald Spanggaard, executive vice president and head of project development at European Energy.
“Together with the long-term contracted offtake, the project now represents a permitted, utility-scale solar asset with defined revenue characteristics – one of the largest of its kind,” he added.
