Moree Solar Farm in Northern New South Wales has successfully achieved first generation.
Developed by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures (FRV), the solar farm is now feeding 56MW of renewable solar energy into the National Electricity Market, enough to power 15,000 average homes.
FRV CEO Rafael Benjumea said the company was proud to have delivered the first utility-scale single axis tracking and largest polycrystalline solar farm in Australia on time and on budget.
“First generation at the plant is a great achievement and represents more than six years of continued work from our Australian office through the development, financing and construction activities,” Mr Benjumea said.
“FRV believes there is strong market support for large-scale solar in Australia and is looking forward to celebrating first generation from some of our other developed sites in the coming years.”
Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) CEO Ivor Frischknecht said large-scale solar in Australia was making solid headway towards reaching commercial maturity.
“In the last six months we’ve seen more than 210MW from ARENA-supported solar farms start feeding into the grid and powering Australian homes and businesses with renewable energy,” Mr Frischknecht said.
“The Nyngan, Broken Hill and Moree solar farms, along with approximately 200MW set to be built through ARENA’s $100 million large-scale solar round, will help push costs down by developing local supply chains, increasing financier confidence and advancing innovative renewable technologies.
“The various projects underway and in the pipeline clearly demonstrate there are a range of technology pathways to success with big solar. In the case of Moree Solar Farm, single-axis tracking is being used to capture more of the sun’s energy as it moves across the sky.”
The project was awarded 2014 Asia Pacific Solar Transaction of the Year by IJ Global, an award that recognises excellence, achievement and innovation in energy and infrastructure finance.
The Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) will work closely with ARENA to augment the deployment of emerging energy technologies across Australia.
ARENA is providing $101.7 million funding support to Moree Solar Farm as well as driving knowledge sharing about the lessons learned during planning, design and construction. The CEFC has provided a debt finance commitment of $46 million.
Moree Solar Farm is scheduled for full completion in April.
About Moree Solar Farm
| Site: | Approx. 280Ha |
| Plant rating: | 56MWac (AC Power Rating) – 70.179MWp (DC Power Rating) |
| Generation: | Approximately 140,000MW hours of clean electricity generated annually; or enough electricity to supply 15,000 average homes per year. |
| Key project components: | 56 x Ingeteam Ingecon Sun PowerMax 1000TL M400 inverters in 28 (2MWac) Power Blocks.222,880 x JA Solar 310/315Wp Polycrystalline Solar PV Modules2785 x NexTracker self-powered, horizontal single-axis tracking system.
31,800 x Blade Piles required for the project with various sizes for different areas and applications. 34.5km – High voltage underground AC reticulation 110km – Underground DC reticulation |
| Transmission line and substation: | The solar farm’s 66kV substation will be connected to Transgrid’s existing substation in Moree via a 13km long dual circuit overhead power line.The overhead line works consist of 4km of new line and a 9km long section of existing line that is being upgraded. |
| External roads: | 2.1km of public roads and the main site entry intersection were upgraded and handed over to council prior to construction commencement. |
