Nexans reinforces its position as a leader in Australia’s renewable energy transition by supporting the construction of a major solar farm project at Glenrowan, Victoria

Nexans, a key player in electrification and the energy transition, announces it will work in consortium with Tesmec Australia for the connection of a major solar farm at Glenrowan to the Victorian Transmission Network. With this contract, Nexans is positioned as a key partner for delivering this turnkey project connecting the solar farm to the Glenrowan terminal station (GNTS) of Victoria Transmission network, and ensuring access to sustainable electricity to over 45,000 Australian homes.

“This Glenrowan project illustrates perfectly how Nexans can work closely with partners to create value for its customers. By featuring mechanised cable installation rather than conventional methods, our unique Nexans-Tesmec turnkey design solution can help make the solar projects more competitive and reduce project costs and lead-time. As the state-of-the-art partner and a leader in energy transition to renewable energy, Nexans will play decisive role in providing the expertise and infrastructure to deliver the project. Solar energy is clean, secure and an abundant form of renewable energy. This project is a great illustration of our unwavering commitment to electrifying the future and accelerating decarbonization,” said Greg Stack, Nexans Asia Pacific Vice President for Building and Territories Southern.

As part of this turnkey project, Nexans and Tesmec Australia consortium have been appointed by AusNet Services (AusNet) to support connection of the 130MW project, offering mechanised cable installation and design services, which are value-added to customers.

AusNet has been appointed to connect the solar farm to the grid. AusNet, together with its construction partners will design, build, own and operate the transmission assets for the solar farm.

Nexans will build on its deep knowledge of cable systems and installations to optimise cable system design and provide 33kV cables and cable accessories. Tesmec Australia will bring its expertise in the automated trenching and laying of long lengths of single-core cable. The integrated approach optimises the Medium Voltage system design, trench cross-sections, and selection of cables and accessories for the project.

The 33 kV power cables will be manufactured at Nexans’ Yanggu Plant in China, while the cable accessories will be manufactured at Nexans’ Australmold in Australia. The mechanised cable will be  commissioned by the first half of 2023.

A key role in Australia's energy transition

In 2021, renewable energy sources generated 32.5% of Australia’s total electricity, an increase of almost 5% compared to 2020. Small-scale solar led this growth and large-scale sector also had a bumper year in 2021, adding 2.95GW across 27 projects which included Australia's three largest solar farms and two of the country's three largest wind farms.

As a leader in Australia’s energy transition, Nexans promotes the growth of renewable energy by supplying innovative cable solutions for the country’s solar farms. Nexans is fully committed to supporting the Australian energy transition, by working closely with developers, installers and operators.