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Stubbo Solar powers up and sets benchmark for circular energy future
12/11/2025
News
ACEN Australia’s 400 MW Stubbo Solar project in central-west New South Wales (NSW) is the first backed by a long-term energy service agreement (LTESA) to reach full commercial operation in Australia. It is also the world’s first utility-scale solar project certified for full circularity under the Circular PV Alliance (CPVA) framework, guaranteeing that every one of the project’s 930,000 solar panels will be reused or recycled at the end of their life.
The LTESA framework is designed to give investors long-term certainty while delivering competitive prices for consumers. The contracts are a key part of NSW’s 20-year Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap and act like insurance for project investors, guaranteeing income to offset price volatility in Australia’s national electricity market. Projects are selected through competitive tenders run by the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO). Stubbo Solar secured its 20-year LTESA in the NSW government’s first renewable energy and storage auction round in 2021.
The Stubbo site, which reached full commercial operation on 3 November, also includes provision for a 200 MW/800 MWh battery energy storage system (BESS), enabling future grid firming capability.
In May 2025, ACEN Australia was awarded 30% of Australia’s Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ), a government-led project that is creating a central network to connect multiple renewable energy generators, like solar and wind farms, in a 20,000 km2 area around Stubbo, NSW. This infrastructure is designed to transmit clean energy efficiently, aiming to power about two million homes and support the transition away from coal-fired generation. It is the first REZ in Australia and includes the construction of a new high-voltage transmission network.
The REZ capacity allocation secures ACEN transmission access for its Birriwa Solar, Birriwa BESS and Valley of the Winds projects, which are all expected to reach financial close within the next year.
Shortly after commissioning Stubbo Solar, ACEN signed a 10% offtake agreement with renewable energy retailer Flow Power. The company will use Stubbo’s generation to supply its Flow Home customers in NSW. Flow Home’s smart, wholesale price-linked tariff rewards consumers for shifting demand to periods of high renewable generation – aligning retail behaviour with system-wide decarbonisation.
‘Our partnership with Flow Power allows renewable energy from Stubbo Solar to be directly matched to customer demand,’ says Pollington. ‘It’s an example of how new offtake models can deliver shared value, connecting generation to end users, driving affordability and strengthening grid resilience as Australia accelerates its clean energy transformation.’
Circularity first: world-leading certification
Stubbo Solar is also the first large-scale solar project to achieve full certification under the Circular PV Alliance’s CPVA Certified programme – said to be the world’s first independent assurance framework for solar circularity.
The certification confirms that all project components – from PV modules to ancillary infrastructure – have verified reuse or recycling pathways, ensuring materials remain in productive use rather than becoming waste. Stubbo earned an ‘Exceeds’ rating for its whole-of-lifecycle approach, going beyond baseline standards in areas such as procurement transparency, repair and refurbishment programmes, and waste minimisation.
‘The technology to recycle and reuse solar panels already exists,’ says Megan Jones, Co-founder and CEO of the Circular PV Alliance. ‘What’s needed now is the market infrastructure and incentives to make it commercially scalable. By embedding circularity into a project of this size, ACEN Australia is helping build the demand signals and supply chains that make large-scale recovery viable.’
For ACEN, circularity is central to building a sustainable transition. ‘Decarbonising Australia’s energy system is a crucial step; but if we only replace the fuel, we risk repeating the logic of the old extractive model,’ comments ACEN Australia Managing Director David Pollington. ‘Circularity challenges us to design for longevity, resilience and renewal. Stubbo shows what’s possible when those principles are built in from the start.’
The CPVA Certified framework audits every phase of a project’s lifecycle – from planning and procurement through operations to decommissioning – verifying end-of-life pathways, supplier accountability and traceability of materials. Its adoption at Stubbo signals a growing recognition that solar’s sustainability should extend beyond clean generation to responsible material stewardship.
The Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) estimates that more than 100,000 tonnes of solar-panel material could reach end of life annually by 2030, underscoring the urgency of establishing scalable recycling solutions and supply-chain infrastructure across the industry.
