North Victoria to acquire 3 solar farms totalling 320 MW

Three solar farms with a combined output of 320 megawatts (MW) are expected to be completed by 2018 in northwest Victoria, Australia.

UK solar developer Island Green Power (IGP) has teamed up with local Australian renewable energy developer Overland Sun Farming to construct three large-scale solar projects in the northwest Victorian towns of Yatpool, Iraak and Wemen.

Together the three projects will have a combined capacity of 320 megawatts, generating enough electricity to power more than 600,000 homes.

According to the IGP, the projects are ready to begin construction after being granted council approval and being signed-off by Powercor Australia – allowing each of the projects to be connected to the state electrical grid upon completion.

Construction is expected to begin soon, and is scheduled to be up and running within 12 months.

Ian Lawrie, Managing Director of IGP, said: “As the input prices fall and future energy and Large-scale Generation Certificates (LGC’s) prices continue to remain high, the conditions are in place for investment. The Overland/IGP team has the experience in delivering utility-scale renewable energy projects from start to finish, which will finally realise Victoria’s potential.”

Brett Thomas, Managing Director of Overland Sun Farming, added: “Solar is Australia’s next great energy opportunity. We could see that Victoria’s north-west region was a fantastic opportunity for solar farming — it has the best solar radiation in the state and there is plenty of clear flat land. Construction is set to get underway later this year.”

The project is just one in a series of large-scale developments in Australia this year.

The country’s Clean Energy Council predicts that 2017 will be the biggest year for renewables in half a century, with more than 20 large-scale renewable energy projects that are either under construction or pending construction.

Earlier this month the Council estimated that the projects will add up to 2,250 MW of newly installed capacity, creating up to $5 billion in investments and almost 3,000 direct jobs.

According to reports, London-based solar developer Eco Energy World (EEW) has plans to build a 280 MW solar farm near Bouldercombe in Queensland, with construction expected to commence as early as the third quarter of this year.

The energy produced will be distributed throughout Queensland as well as New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia.

Svante Kumlin, Chairman of EEW, said: “We believe Queensland has huge potential for solar energy with its high irradiance, good infrastructure and availability of land. The Bouldercombe solar farm will be able to supply clean energy not only to Queensland but also other states due to its unique location and technical design.”

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