Contracting company Decmil says it has settled its dispute with inverter supplier Schneider over the 200MW Sunraysia solar farm in NSW, but is yet to resolve its differences with the project owners.
The dispute over Sunraysia is one of the most high profile in the industry, if only because as a listed company Decmil has to release the details of the dispute to investors, as did majority Sunraysia owner John Laing before it was taken private.
There are many other disputes between wind and solar farm developers and their contractors, mostly over delays and connection issues.
But these are largely played out behind closed doors, particularly after the spectacular collapse of RCR Tomlinson and the withdrawal from the EPC market of other listed contractors, including Downer, Tempo and Decmil.
In a recent release to the Australian Stock Exchange, Decmil says it has now reached an agreement with Schneider Electric Australia to conclude their dispute in relation to the supply contract at the Sunraysia solar project.
The dispute had been triggered around the same time as the owners made a claim of liquidated damages against the contractor over project delays.
Decmil says the terms of the settlement are confidential, although it insists there will be “no material impact on its financial accounts.” It had previously warned of potential “substantial losses” from the claim that it said amounted to $19 million in the case of Schneider.
Decmil says that the resolution of the dispute with Schneider “is an enabler” for the company to progress its arbitration dispute with the Sunraysia project owners. It gave no further details on the status of those proceedings, which it has said previously amounts to around $29 million.
In additional good news, Decmil also reports it has been advised of a “conditional preferred status” as balance of plant contractor for the construction of the proposed 108MW Waddi wind project in Western Australia, owned by Tilt Renewables.
The project is close to the the 214MW Yandin and 180MW Warradarge wind farms it helped complete in 2020. An early works scope of works will be agreed to support the development phase of the project which is targeted to commence construction in late 2023.
