Iberdrola Australia has celebrated a major milestone at its Broadsound Solar Farm and Battery project, with installation of all 609,522 solar panels.
The 376MW Broadsound Solar Farm and 180MW (2hr) co-located Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), located at Clarke Creek, about two hours north-west from Rockhampton, will generate enough electricity to power 145,000 homes.
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Across the site, more than 91,000 piles were driven and 7,006 trackers installed. Behind this has been a mechanical installation team of 110 people, with close to half identifying as First Nations.
Iberdrola Australia CEO and chairman Ross Rolfe AO said, “After providing energy to Australian customers, including Queensland commercial and industrial businesses, for many years we’re excited to soon be able to generate energy locally here with the Broadsound Solar Farm and BESS project.
“With more than 20 years experience working in Australian communities we’re looking forward to this big step into the Queensland market and adding to our 1.7GW of energy assets in operation across the country.
“It’s been great to work with the local community, the First Nations people, and in particular the Queensland Government and Isaac Regional Council to develop this project to deliver clean and affordable energy.”
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Powerlink recently completed the connection to Broadsound Solar Farm ahead of schedule, which means Iberdrola can commence testing before exporting to the National Electricity Market (NEM) once construction is complete.
