SA Water has contracted Adelaide-based company Enerven to roll-out a planned 154MW of solar PV and 34MWh of energy storage across more than 70 of the utility’s sites.
SA Water said on Wednesday that Enerven – a wholly-owned subsidiary of SA Power Networks – had won the tender for the job, and would begin work soon.
The utility’s $300 million solar and storage was first unveiled just over a year ago, in January 2018, and put to tender the following April.
It follows the installation of 6MW of solar across SA Water’s Glenelg, Hope Valley and Christies Beach facilities, which is due for connection to the grid in coming months.
“This is an important milestone for our energy management activities, and boots getting ready to hit the ground are a signal that we’ll soon start seeing benefit realisation, as the new sites are progressively energised,” said SA Water CEO Roch Cheroux.
The utility – which manages more than 27,000km of water mains – had a $62 million electricity bill in 2017-18.
“Our bigger picture is a zero cost energy future, where we regain control over one of our single largest operational expenses. There’s no doubt our ambitious goal will be a stretch, but we won’t lose sight of it.”
