News
12 March, 2026
Premier helps break ground on $900 million solar farm and battery project
NSW Premier Chris Minns has helped break ground on a $900 million solar farm and battery project at Bungendore.
NSW Premier Chris Minns has helped break ground on a $900 million solar farm and battery project at Bungendore.
The Blind Creek Solar Farm and Battery project will combine a 300MW solar farm with a 243MW/486MWh battery, capturing energy during the day and dispatching it into the evening peak when demand is highest.
The site will connect via a new substation into the transmission backbone between Sydney and Canberra.
The project will support up to 300 full-time equivalent jobs at peak construction, with approximately half expected to be sourced from the Bungendore and Monaro regions.
“This is the kind of project New South Wales needs as we replace ageing energy infrastructure,” Premier Chris Minns said.
“We need to keep the lights on, keep costs as low as possible and to keep regional communities with us along the way.
“The Blind Creek project is creating local jobs and it will help deliver the replacement energy that households and businesses rely on.”
Global capital is lining up behind this project with investment from Australian superannuation funds Hostplus and Rest, the Commonwealth’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation, Westpac Private Bank and Dutch pension giant APG.
“This project shows what happens when global capital, Australian super and regional farming families align under stable government policy,” Octopus Australia CEO Sam Reynold said this week.
“You get real infrastructure, real clean electricity and real jobs.”
“Octopus Australia’s strategy is designed precisely for this - to align long term capital with regional communities and deliver bankable projects.”
Blind Creek was initiated in partnership with local sheep farmers seeking to integrate agriculture with energy production as a means to future-proof their properties.
The solar farm has been specifically designed to allow animal production to continue on the land - as it has for 155 years - with a boost in grazing capability also expected as a result of protection from winds, partial shading, condensation and organic soil improvements coming from the project.
Construction is being led by EPC Contractor GRS, with Wärtsilä Energy Storage supplying the battery energy storage system (BESS).
The project is scheduled to be fully operational in 2028.
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