A group of six councils in the Hunter/Central Coast region – Muswellbrook Shire Council, along with Upper Hunter Shire Council, Maitland City Council, Cessnock City Council, Central Coast Council and Lake Macquarie City Council – have combined selected electricity requirements into a 10-year Power Purchase Agreement (PPA).
Muswellbrook Mayor Steve Reynolds said that following a competitive open tender process in September last year the group has secured a long-term electricity agreement with Mojo Power backed by new renewable electricity generation projects.
Muswellbrook Shire Mayor Steve Reynolds“The PPA agreement combines participating Councils’ electricity requirements of 100GWh for large sites and streetlighting and will increase sources and consumption of renewable energy within the Councils’ regions,” he said.
The agreement includes a commitment to construct the NSW-government-approved Upper Hunter Energy Park (UHEP) – near Scone – which includes an 80MW wind and 10MW solar farm with plans for future storage capacity and will also source electricity from solar farms in Boggabilla (operating) and Yoogali (due to commence in July 2022).
The contract structure includes a direct link between the electricity supplied by the linked projects and the electricity consumed by the six councils. This will provide a stable price to the projects, enabling a secure financial return over the 10-year contract, as well as long-term cost stability to the councils.
On top of the electricity supply, each Council will determine how they manage environmental certificates to support their individual environmental targets over the course of the contract. Some of the participating councils will achieve 100% renewable electricity from the outset, while others will progressively ramp up their promotion of renewable electricity in line with their targets.
Muswellbrook Shire Mayor Steve Reynolds“Mojo Power were identified as providing the best value for money outcome. This is a great outcome for all councils involved, will result in stable and lower electricity costs and support the construction of new renewable electricity projects in the region,” Mayor Reynolds said.
