Thai energy company Banpu, which owns Centennial Coal announced this week that it has purchased two utility-scale solar farms in a deal worth AUD $97.5 million, the Beryl Solar Farm and Manildra Solar Farm west of Orange.

The Beryl farm was purchased from previous owners New Energy Solar who bought the farm from First Solar in 2019.

The purchase is a step towards the company's new energy goals, with CEO Somruedee Chaimongkol, in an interview with CNBC this week saying that the publicly-traded company was committed to transforming the company into a leader in clean energy.

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The Beryl solar project saw pushback from the community in 2017 with residents concerned about the impacts of the solar farm on property values and noise pollution, though these issues have not been raised since the farm was completed in late 2017.

According to Banpu's 2020 annual report, 95% of the company's profits came from coal investments. Ms Chaimongkol has signalled her intention to slash that to 50% by 2025 and told CNBC the company will not "invest in new coal assets".

The sale was made via Banpu's wholly-owned Banpu Energy Hold Trusty Co and its energy technology arm Banpu NEXT Co, which invested through Banpu Renewable Australia.

The electricity produced by Beryl is used to meet the operational electricity needs of the Sydney Metro Northwest rail link.

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