Defence NT Solar

The Defence NT Solar projects comprise the design, construction, financing, operation and maintenance of two solar energy facilities located at Robertson Barracks and RAAF Base Darwin in the Northern Territory. 

Robertson Barracks is located approximately 15 kilometres east of Darwin and is the largest military base in the region, supporting Army mechanised and aviation operations. The Roberston Barracks solar site occupies approximately 9.5 hectares north of the main barracks precinct, outside the secure base perimeter.

RAAF Base Darwin is located approximately 6.5 kilometres north-east of Darwin and is a key Air Force operational base supporting air combat, surveillance and joint military operations. The RAAF Base Darwin solar site occupies approximately 5.4 hectares within the north-western corner of the base perimeter

The Robertson Barracks and RAAF Darwin solar facilities are grid-connected, ground- mounted fixed-tilt photovoltaic (PV) power stations with individual capacities of approximately 10.9MW and 3.6MW respectively. The facilities are connected to the Defence electrical network and serving approximately 40% of the bases’ electricity requirements. The project also involved the integration of battery energy storage system (BESS) for firming energy supply, together with a capacity forecasting system. 

Capella Capital was the bid leader and asset manager to the Assure Energy Consortium. The consortium was supported by the Lendlease’s Energy and Technology business, which delivered an integrated engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) together with operations and maintenance (O&M) solution incorporating both solar generation and BESS technologies.