Shine on you: Panalpina to manage seven solar plants in Australia

Following Panalpina’s last entry on renewables in Australia, a country that has ambitious solar projects at various development stages, today’s focus is on seven new solar farms awarded to Panalpina by a leading electrical and communications engineering solutions consortium.

The scope of work includes shipping, customs clearance, and the entire landside logistics from Asia, Europe and USA, as well as site coordination for the Sun Metals Solar Plant, the Manildra Solar Farm, the Swan Hill Solar Farm, the Clermont Solar Farm, Wemen Solar Farm, Haughton Solar Farm and the Gannawarra Solar Farm.

“Our customer has firmly positioned itself as one of Australia’s most important procurement and construction providers of large-scale solar and other renewable energy infrastructure projects and was looking for a long-term partner to work with on future solar projects in Australia,” says Justin Bound,country head of Energy and Project Solutions for Australia and New Zealand. “Panalpina was ready to offer a complete supply chain solution out of one hand and that set us apart.”

With the millions of thin-film photovoltaic modules installed, the solar farms will produce enough energy to power thousands of households across Australia and displace hundreds of thousands of metric tons of CO₂ emissions per year.

Australia wants 20 percent of its energy output to come from renewables in 2020. These contributed to just 7 percent of the country’s electricity output a decade ago, but the figure reached 18.8 percent last month. In fact, Australia’s renewable energy sector is within striking distance of matching national household power consumption, producing enough electricity to run 70 percent of homes last year.