The project integrates 243MWp of solar generation capacity with a 172MW/409MWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery energy storage system (BESS) in a DC-coupled configuration, meaning the solar array connects directly to the battery at the DC level before conversion to AC for grid export.
This configuration offers several advantages over traditional AC-coupled systems, including improved efficiency, reduced equipment costs and enhanced flexibility in energy dispatch.
The facility’s maximum export capacity into the National Electricity Market (NEM) is 172MW. It can import up to 91MW.
PCL Construction served as the engineering, procurement and construction contractor. Gentari acknowledged PCL alongside a number of other partners in its announcement, including SOLMECH, Nextpower, Stralis Energy, All Energy Contracting, EPEC Group and Essential Energy.
TrinaSolar supplied the solar PV modules and CATL supplied the battery storage system. Spanish inverter manufacturer Ingeteam was selected as the project’s inverter supplier in a deal that marked the first DC-coupled solar-plus-storage project in eastern Australia to proceed to construction.
The tracker system was supplied by Canadian racking company Polar Racking, which secured the Maryvale contract as its first Australian project, in a deal that gave the company a foothold in the country’s rapidly expanding utility-scale solar market.
The project is located within the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone, approximately 37km south-east of Dubbo on a 360-hectare site.
It holds a Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA) awarded through the fourth AEMO Services tender under the NSW Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap, making it one of the first solar-plus-storage projects to secure an LTESA under that framework.
From groundbreaking to mechanical completion
The project has moved through construction in just under a year. As PV Tech reported when Gentari broke ground in August 2025, the site was positioned as one of Australia’s first large-scale DC-coupled solar and storage projects, with commercial operations targeted for early 2027.
The Maryvale project originated with solar developer Wirsol Energy Australia before Gentari’s acquisition of that business in 2023.
The DC-coupled architecture at Maryvale allows solar energy that would otherwise be clipped during peak generation periods to be captured and stored in the battery, improving the overall efficiency of the system compared to AC-coupled configurations. It also reduces equipment costs and enhances flexibility in how power is dispatched to the grid.
Mechanical completion brings Gentari’s Australian clean energy portfolio to approximately 814MW across utility-scale solar farms and hybrid projects spanning New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria.
Commercial operations are scheduled for the second quarter of 2027.
George Heynes
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