As trucks and earthmoving equipment gather to protect the River Murray town of Mannum from high flood waters, this alternative workforce is building a different sort of asset to tackle the impacts of climate change two kilometres away.

Epic Energy chief executive officer Clive D’Cruz said the plan involved expanding the existing two-year-old Mannum solar farm from its current 6.86MWp production to a capacity of 39.24MWp at peak production.

This will eliminate 26,250 tonnes in carbon emissions that might otherwise have been produced by traditional power plants, the equivalent of removing 8750 cars from the road.

“Mannum receives consistent sunlight in a strong region of the grid presenting a significant opportunity to generate solar power to meet the growing needs of industrial customers as they transition to renewables,” D’Cruz said.

“Orora Limited will be the foundational customer for Mannum Solar Farm’s second stage under a long-term agreement to help meet the energy and sustainability requirements of its Gawler glass manufacturing facility.”

The new section of the solar farm will operate independently from its earlier built counterpart as it has an independent connection to the SA Power Networks distribution grid with operations due to start in late 2023.

The initial project was developed by Canadian Solar and acquired by South Australian-based Epic Energy in November 2020, with an option to purchase Stage Two.

Canadian Solar had continued the development of Stage Two resulting in Epic Energy exercising the option to acquire it in August 2022.

At nearby Mannum, work is well underway on two levees to protect homes and businesses from River Murray flooding with estimated flows of up to 185GL per day.