NT Solar Futures project near Berry Springs gets development green light from planning authority

A MAJOR proposed solar farm project south of Darwin that would create 200 jobs during construction has been given the green light by the NT’s development authority.

A MAJOR proposed solar farm project south of Darwin that would create 200 jobs during construction has been given the green light by the Northern Territory’s development authority.

East Arm-based start-up business NT Solar Futures plans to build a 50-megawatt solar farm near Berry Springs, with the $100m project set to provide 5 per cent of Darwin’s power needs.

The project, known as Livingstone Solar, was approved by the Development Consent Authority at its Litchfield division meeting on Friday.

NT Solar Futures director and project manager Ilana Eldridge said the Top End start-up was still working towards securing a final investment decision and other big approvals, including a connection agreement with Power and Water Corporation, which she said was “taking a very long time”.

A major proposed solar farm project south of Darwin that would create 200 jobs during construction has been given the green light by the Northern Territory’s development authority. Picture: Hollie Adams/The Australian

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The company also has to secure a power purchase agreement, which in the Northern Territory means its options are government-owned Jacana Energy or private retailer Rimfire Energy or alternatively, selling the electricity to a major power user.

Ms Eldridge said the latter was the less likely option.

Construction would take nine months and create 200 jobs in the Territory, with ­several long-term contracts for repair and maintenance to ­create ongoing jobs after that.

NT Solar Futures hopes to begin transmitting power in early-2022.

Ms Eldridge said the company had been working on the “long journey” of achieving development consent for a year and a half.

Development Consent Authority documents show the project hit a planning process hurdle, through no fault of the company, after the Northern Territory government put in a whole new scheme in July that included a bungled clause.

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The new laws had a clause with the “unintended consequence” of removing the authority’s ability to exercise discretion when approving developments that involved clearing native vegetation.

The clause was reviewed, amended and came into play in October.

This allowed the authority to move forward and subsequently approve NT Solar Futures’ application.