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Beryl Solar Farm

The biggest solar farms in New South Wales.

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New South Wales is one of the largest states in Australia and has been making significant strides in the field of renewable energy, particularly with solar power. With plenty of sunshine and vast open spaces, the state has become an ideal location for large-scale solar power plants. Here are some of the biggest solar power plants in New South Wales:

  1. Sunraysia Solar Farm: Located in Balranald, Sunraysia is one of the largest solar farms in Australia. With 1.2 million solar panels spread over 2,000 hectares, the farm has a total capacity of 200 MW.
  2. Limondale Solar Farm: Developed by French company Neoen, Limondale Solar Farm has a total capacity of 249 MW. The farm is spread across 900 hectares near Balranald and uses 872,000 solar panels.
  3. Wellington Solar Farm: Located near the town of Wellington, this solar farm has a total capacity of 174 MW. The farm is owned by Lightsource BP, and has more than 500,000 solar panels.
  4. Coleambally Solar Farm: Developed by Neoen, Coleambally Solar Farm has a total capacity of 189 MW. The farm is spread across 550 hectares and uses 567,800 solar panels.
  5. Griffith Solar Farm: Located in Yoogali, Griffith Solar Farm has a total capacity of 36 MW. The farm is spread across 104 hectares and uses 120,000 solar panels.
  6. Parkes Solar Farm: Owned by Canadian Solar, Parkes Solar Farm has a total capacity of 66 MW. The farm is spread across 210 hectares and uses 206,000 solar panels.
  7. Dubbo Solar Hub: Developed by FRV, Dubbo Solar Hub is located near Dubbo and has a total capacity of 57.5 MW. The farm uses 195,000 solar panels spread over 150 hectares.
  8. Gunnedah Solar Farm: Located near the town of Gunnedah, this solar farm has a total capacity of 45 MW. The farm uses 150,000 solar panels spread over 90 hectares.
  9. White Rock Solar Farm: Developed by Goldwind Australia, White Rock Solar Farm has a total capacity of 20 MW. The farm is spread across 43 hectares and uses 77,000 solar panels.
  10. Beryl Solar Farm: Owned by New Energy Solar, Beryl Solar Farm has a total capacity of 110 MW. The farm is located near Gulgong and uses 319,000 solar panels.

These solar power plants have been crucial in reducing Australia’s carbon emissions, and have made significant contributions towards the country’s clean energy targets. With more solar projects in the pipeline, New South Wales is well on its way towards achieving a sustainable future.

  1. Limondale Solar Farm – https://www.ingersollrand.com/en-au/newsroom/news/2019/01/limondale-solar-farm-announces-major-construction-milestone
  2. Suntop Solar Farm – https://www.escoenergy.com.au/projects/suntop-solar-farm/
  3. Wellington Solar Farm – https://global.escoenergy.com.au/projects/wellington-solar-farm/
  4. Gunnedah Solar Farm – https://frv.com/en/projects/gunnedah-solar-farm/
  5. Griffith Solar Farm – https://www.edsalvato.com/2019/10/15/the-griffith-solar-farm-is-a-nsw-winner/
  6. Finley Solar Farm – https://www.jinkosolar.com/au/projects/Finley-Solar-Farm
  7. Parkes Solar Farm – https://frv.com/en/projects/parkes-solar-farm/
  8. Coleambally Solar Farm – https://neoen.com/projects/coleambally-solar-farm/
  9. Dubbo Solar Hub – https://www.neoen.com.au/projects/dubbo-solar-hub/
  10. Manildra Solar Farm – https://www.solarchoice.net.au/blog/manildra-solar-farm-nsw/

New South Wales has a long history of using renewable energy sources, particularly solar power. The state has some of the highest levels of solar irradiation in Australia, making it an ideal location for solar energy production. The first solar farm in New South Wales was established in 2011 in the town of Nyngan. The farm, which covers an area of around 250 hectares, was developed by AGL Energy and is capable of generating up to 102 MW of power. It was one of the largest solar farms in the world at the time of its construction and was a significant step towards increasing the state’s renewable energy capacity.

Since then, the use of solar power in New South Wales has continued to grow. The state government has implemented a number of policies and initiatives aimed at increasing the use of renewable energy, including solar power. In 2019, the state government announced the development of 14 new solar farms, which are expected to produce a total of 1.4 GW of power. The largest of these farms is the 250 MW Sunraysia Solar Farm, which is located near Balranald.

In addition to large-scale solar farms, many households and businesses in New South Wales have installed solar panels on their roofs. As of 2021, around 470,000 homes and businesses in the state had installed rooftop solar systems. This has helped to reduce their reliance on the grid and has contributed to the state’s growing renewable energy capacity. Overall, New South Wales has made significant strides in the development and use of solar power, and it is expected to continue to play a key role in the state’s energy mix in the future.

 

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Beryl Solar Farm Sold To New Energy Solar

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We’ve written about the Beryl Solar Farm reaching a financial close back in May – now the 87MW (108MW according to the AFR) project has a new owner and is continuing construction. 

Beryl Solar Farm Sold To New Energy Solar

Beryl Solar Farm Sold to New Energy Solar
Beryl Solar Farm Sold to New Energy Solar (source: FirstSolar.com.au)

According to PV Magazine, the farm has been purchased by New Energy Solar – who also bought the 50MW Manildra Solar Farm for $113m last month. Both farms were previously owned by First Solar and the Beryl farm will be using their 420W large-format Series 6 thin film PV modules. Beryl also comes with a 15 year PPA with Transport for NSW – who will purchase 134,000 MWh from Beryl Solar Farm each year – using the power for the Sydney Metro Northwest railway. This long PPA with a AAA rated customer (i.e. the government) makes the farm a great buy in its current shape.

The EPC project was estimated at $150m according to Reuters, but it’s now estimated at $187m. Downer Utilities started work on the project in May and hope to have it finished in mid 2019. The farm will produce enough energy to power 25,000 households and doesn’t require any water for its electricity generation.

New Energy Solar said the cost of the farm won’t be announced but it was pegged to a target for five-year annual average gross yield of 8.2%, in comparison with yield on its existing portfolio of about 6.8% p.a, so by those metrics it looks like a canny purchase. 

New Energy Solar’s CEO, John Martin, discussed how the extra-long 15 year PPA helped get the sale of this project over the line:

“Beryl, New’s second investment in Australia, will further enhance the scale and contracted cashflows of our Australian portfolio,” said Martin. “Following the Manildra acquisition last month, we are delighted to be consolidating our relationship with First Solar through this second sizeable transaction in the Australian market.”

Martin continued to say that ~69% of the energy provided by the Beryl project will go to Transport for NSW – with the rest slated to package up with a 20MWh battery and sold to a corporate customer as commercial solar. 

To learn more about the project from the First Solar website please click here. 

If you’re interested in solar employment and working at the Beryl Solar Farm, please click here to visit the Downer Group’s careers website.

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Beryl Solar Farm reaches financial close.

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First Solar have reached a financial close at the 87MW Beryl solar farm in New South Wales. The farm will be one of the world’s first to use First Solar’s Series 6 modules (with 420+ watts per module) and will be constructed by Downer EDI. 

Beryl Solar Farm – Construction and Financial Close

Beryl Solar Farm
Beryl Solar Farm (site: firstsolar.com.au)

Beryl is around five km from Gulgong in central west NSW. This is one of NSW’s biggest completed solar farms but there are some upcoming projects which will dwarf it (such as the 200MW Sunraysia solar farm in Balranald or the $380m Gunning Solar Farm – with solar there are always bigger plans in place!).

According to a press release on Reuters, the engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract is worth about $150m and construction will commence soon.

TransGrid’s head of business growth Richard Lowe discussed how they will be able to integrate into the project: “The project is located approximately 250 metres south of TransGrid’s Beryl Substation, so we have been able to offer a very competitive and attractive asset connection plan to First Solar,” Lowe said in a statement on the TransGrid website.

“The Beryl Solar Farm will connect directly into TransGrid’s high-voltage electricity transmission network via a 66kV connection to a new bay at Beryl Substation.

“This connection will allow the export of 87 megawatts of power into the National Electricity Market – enough to serve the needs of approximately 25,000 average NSW homes, while the associated carbon emission displacement is equivalent to taking about 45,000 cars off the road.” the statement from TransGrid continued.

TransGrid will oversee the construction and operation of a new substation at the Beryl solar farm so they’re able to then connect that to the existing Beryl substation. This will happen in the second half of the year. 

If you’d like to learn more about the Series 6 module please click here to watch a video on the manufacturing process. 

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