Australian venture switches on 6.5 MW solar-plus-storage project

South Australia’s Vibe Energy and Victoria’s GWMWater have energized their joint venture, the NREF. The facility, located 380 km northwest of Melbourne, includes a 6.5 MW solar farm with 9,000 panels and a 2.75 MW/6.7 MWh battery storage system, connected to the local grid in Nhill, Victoria.

GWMWater said project will offset 70% of its energy use across 330 sites, supporting its goals of 100% renewable electricity by 2025 and net-zero emissions by 2035. Next Generation Electrical is the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contractor.

The first stage of construction at the NREF began in 2024 and is GWMWater’s first venture into large- scale energy generation with direct connection into the local electricity grid.

The NREF, along with solar generation installed at 59 other GWMWater sites, will enable GWMWater to become more self-sufficient by generating the energy needed to operate its services with less reliance on electricity from the grid.