The biggest solar power plants in Queensland.

Over the years, the state has seen a significant increase in solar power plants as it aims to transition to a more sustainable energy future. In this article, we will take a closer look at 7 of the biggest solar power plants in Queensland.

  1. Western Downs Green Power Hub Located in Chinchilla, this solar power plant has a capacity of 400 MW and covers an area of 540 hectares. It is currently the largest solar power plant in Queensland and one of the largest in the country. The project was developed by Neoen and completed in 2020. The solar farm generates enough electricity to power 235,000 homes annually. Visit their website here: Western Downs Green Power Hub
  2. Haughton Solar Farm Located in the Burdekin Shire, this solar power plant has a capacity of 500 MW and covers an area of 1,200 hectares. The project is being developed by Pacific Hydro and is expected to be completed in 2023. Once completed, the solar farm will generate enough electricity to power 180,000 homes annually. Visit their website here: Haughton Solar Farm
  3. Western Downs Solar Project Located in Dalby, this solar power plant has a capacity of 350 MW and covers an area of 540 hectares. The project was developed by Neoen and completed in 2019. The solar farm generates enough electricity to power 235,000 homes annually. Visit their website here: Western Downs Solar Project
  4. Brigalow Solar Farm Located in the Western Downs Region, this solar power plant has a capacity of 120 MW and covers an area of 160 hectares. The project was developed by Lighthouse Infrastructure and completed in 2019. The solar farm generates enough electricity to power 36,000 homes annually. Visit their website here: Brigalow Solar Farm
  5. Ross River Solar Farm Located in Townsville, this solar power plant has a capacity of 148 MW and covers an area of 202 hectares. The project was developed by Palisade Investment Partners and ESCO Pacific and was completed in 2018. The solar farm generates enough electricity to power 54,000 homes annually. Visit their website here: Ross River Solar Farm
  6. Clare Solar Farm Located in Ayr, this solar power plant has a capacity of 100 MW and covers an area of 120 hectares. The project was developed by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and completed in 2018. The solar farm generates enough electricity to power 42,000 homes annually. Visit their website here: Clare Solar Farm
  7. Kidston Solar Project Located in Kidston, this solar power plant has a capacity of 50 MW and covers an area of 160 hectares. The project was developed by Genex Power and completed in 2017. The solar farm generates enough electricity to power 26,484 homes annually. Visit their website here: Kidston Solar Project

In addition to these solar farms, there are many other solar projects currently being developed in Queensland, with the state aiming to reach its target of 50% renewable energy by 2030.

It is clear that solar power has a bright future in Queensland, as the state continues to invest in large-scale solar projects and pave the way for a cleaner, more sustainable energy future. With its abundant sunshine and vast open spaces, it’s no surprise that Queensland is leading the charge in solar energy in Australia.

As the world continues to shift towards renewable energy, it’s exciting to see the progress being made in Queensland, and it will be interesting to see what new solar projects will be developed in the years to come.

If you’re interested in learning more about solar power in Queensland or how you can make the switch to renewable energy, there are many resources available online, including the Queensland Government’s official website on renewable energy.

In conclusion, Queensland is home to some of the biggest solar power plants in the country, with the top 10 solar farms listed above leading the way in generating clean, renewable energy for the state. With more solar projects in the pipeline, Queensland is well on its way to achieving its ambitious renewable energy targets and creating a more sustainable future for generations to come.

 

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XXXX Beer and Commercial Solar

A rooftop solar system has been installed at the Castlemaine Perkins brewery in Milton, Brisbane. The XXXX brewery is a local institution and to think that it’ll now be brewed by using renewable power will make it taste even more sweet! Or bitter. I’m not sure of the correct parlance. Anyway. Solar powered milton mangoes. Let’s learn more!

XXXX Beer and Commercial Solar

XXXX Beer and Commercial Solar
XXXX Beer and Commercial Solar (source: lionco.com)

The iconic XXXX brewery has become the latest private company to install commercial solar. Given the price considerations are dropping as the electricity prices remain volatile, more and more companies are taking the leap and investing in commercial solar systems.

A posting on the official Lion website notes that the $2m project has been completed and the 690-kilowatt system will generate approximately 1,368,000 kilowatt hours every year.

“This will reduce the site’s annual carbon emissions by about 1260 tonnes, which is about seven per cent of CO2 emissions from electricity used at XXXX,” Lion’s Group Supply Chain Director Ian Roberts (sadly not the footy player) said.

“We are committed to reducing our environmental footprint and being a good neighbour to the many residents and businesses that call Milton home.

“And we will keep the big yellow wheel in place on Milton Road just as a reminder of how far we’ve come. It is change like this that has allowed us to preserve the brewery’s rich history and keep making Queensland’s favourite beer. This is something everyone at XXXX is very proud of.  In addition to the solar power system, we have also installed a state-of-the-art reverse osmosis plant which reuses waste water – enabling XXXX Gold to be produced at a ratio of 2.8 litres of water for every litre of beer produced, which is approaching world-leading levels of efficiency for brewing,” Mr Roberts continued.

I don’t actually know what the big yellow wheel is, but I’ve reached out to Lion. Sounds mildly interesting. Watch this space! 

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Solar Energy Jobs double in 17-18 FY

Solar energy jobs in Australia received a huge boost in the 17-18 financial year according to statistics from the ABS. The amount of jobs in this sector double from the previous year. 

Solar Energy Jobs in Australia

With the explosion of solar power in Australia, solar jobs have also seen a drastic uptick – according to data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) the number of full time jobs in the renewable energy sector rose by 28% in 17/18. A whopping 46% of this represents rooftop solar – the total of 17,740 full time jobs is up a whopping 60% from 15-16 numbers.

Solar Energy Jobs in Australia (source: @ahsan19 via Unsplash.com)
Solar Energy Jobs in Australia (source: @ahsan19 via Unsplash.com)

“Factors contributing to the growth in renewable energy uptake in Australia include a reduction in costs, greater interest in clean energy sources and the development of electricity storage technologies,” Jonathon Khoo from the ABS said in comments published on the SBS website.

“Although this has led to a boost in employment in the renewable energy sector, employment in renewable energy remains comparatively small compared with other forms of energy which employs around 59,000 people.”

“We saw large scale solar projects – systems with an installed capacity of 100 kilowatts or greater – overtake hydroelectric power to become the second-largest creator of renewable jobs” Mr Khoo continued. 

An article in the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Simon Currie from Renew Estate – he discussed the ramifications for solar employees and those looking to get involved in this rapidly growing industry:

“Projects like Bomen – in Wagga Wagga – are showing the way for the future, by using localised labour, and it paves the way for how the renewable workforce is used in the future,” Mr Currie said.

Solar farm jobs rose steadily from 930 in 2016-17 to 2880 last year, beating hydro’s 2020 jobs and the 1890 employees working at wind farms.  Around 1 in 4 homes which are suitable for solar power have it installed, so there’s still plenty of room to move. We also have energy storage to keep an eye on! 

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Cape York Battery Power Plant

The $150m Cape York Battery Power Plant is being developed by solar battery developer Lyon Group and will include Australia’s first large dispatchable solar generator.

Cape York Battery Power Plant 

Cape York Battery Power Plant
Cape York Battery Power Plant Team – David Green, Chairman, Lyon Group. Hendrik Gordenker, Chairman, JERA. Jan Teichmann, Vice President, Global Markets, Fluence. (source: lyoninfrastructure.com.au)

The Cape York Battery Power Plant will be the first large scale dispatchable solar energy generator in Australia’s national energy market. 

It will be built by Lyon Group in conjunction with Japanese energy company JERA. JERA have an astounding 74GW of solar on their portfolio, so there will be a very experienced team working on the project. 

“The Cape York Battery Power Plant will be the first fully integrated grid-connected large dispatchable solar peaker in Australia if not the world,” said Lyon Group chair David Green. 

“It is a $150 million commitment to new peaking generation and a stronger grid in north Queensland.

“The 20MW/80MWh Fluence battery-based energy storage system plus 55MWac solar generation will dispatch firm clean energy through a single connection point, using a single power plant controller.” he continued.

The Cape York Battery Power Plant will also include Australia’s first four-hour duration battery system, which makes it the first large scale dispatchable solar energy generator in Australia’s national energy market. 

Satoshi Yajima, Senior Vice President of Power Generation Business, JERA had some interesting things to say with regards to the shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy: 

“JERA’s global generation fleet is mostly fossil fuel powered at present, but the company believes that Australia and most other countries will rapidly move beyond 50 percent renewable energy.

A very large volume of utility-scale battery storage will be required to achieve and move beyond 50 per cent renewable energy.

The Cape York Battery Power Plant is a small power plant within JERA’s portfolio, but we see this project as lighting the way to expand our renewables portfolio.”

Construction on the generator will start early this year after it secured its generator performance standard this week. This is one of the first projects to pass the new, more stringent grid connection requirements implemented in 2018. Can’t wait to see what this looks like when it’s complete and investigate some of the savings it brings. 

 

 

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Sunshine Energy Project groundbreaking ceremony.

The Sunshine Energy project in south east Queensland had its groundbreaking ceremony last week. Not everybody’s happy about it, though. Let’s take a look at the plans for the farm and its opposition.

Sunshine Energy Project groundbreaking ceremony.

Sunshine Energy Project groundbreaking ceremony.
Sunshine Energy Project groundbreaking ceremony. (source: Twitter @GlennButcherMP)

The Sunshine Energy project is a 1500MW solar energy facility with 500MW storage planned. There is a provision to extend the farm to 200MW so we will see what happens after the farm is launched and its output measured. It’ll be built by Sunshine Energy Australia Pty Ltd who will invest ~$2.5m USD in the project. 

Glenn Butcher, member for Gladstone and Assistant Minister for Treasury, posted up a picture of the groundbreaking ceremony on his Twitter account, saying “Queensland is continuing to lead the country with solar projects. Early ground breaking ceremony today for Sunshine Energy Australia’s $2 billion 1500 megawatt (MW) solar farm, with a 500 MW battery storage.”

However there has been some solar farm oppositionaccording to Solar Quotes, local resident Anthony Crombie has launched legal action to try and retract the Sunshine Energy Project’s approval. Mr. Crombie will see Somerset Council and Sunshine Energy Australia in the Planning and Environment Court this year. If you’d like to see his Change.org petition (currently supported by 241 people) please click here. It looks like the usual issues with residents and nearby solar farms are being cited. The usage of ‘prime beef cattle grazing land’ for a solar farm is also disputed. 

As per his petition, Mr Crombie is worried that the solar farm will ruin the scenic D’Aguilar Highway and be an eyesore: “(the) size and scale of the development will render the rural landscape unrecognizable.” He’s also concerned about 80 heavy vehicles driving on the highway, as there are few passing lanes and it has already been acknowledged as being ‘dangerous and problematic’ according to an RACQ survey.

Supporter comment on the petition: “These disgraceful things are heavily subsidised and cannot compete with Coal or Gas..If we export Coal and other countries use it efficiently why can’t we.?”

Any thoughts on that one? Sound off in the comments. You can also follow the case as it goes through the courts by clicking on this link.

 

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