Adegboye MattOver the last several years, solar energy has shown to be a brilliant answer in the face of growing energy prices and power bills, and more significantly, as a method of battling climate change and the harmful environmental repercussions.
There is no question that renewable energy sources are the major focus and hope for the country’s energy needs, giving a big step forward and an important power source for any sector, backed by research from centers all over the globe.
Let’s aside from the environmental challenges that solar energy handles, approach the energy problem exclusively from an economic standpoint.
Global poverty and tighter financial means imply that a larger population has fewer energy resources and less spending capacity for these resources. This is the case everywhere.
As a renewable energy source that may give a more equitable way to spend and distribute resources as well as a better way of life, solar must be made more widely known.
Not only can solar energy alleviate the issue of greenhouse gas emissions but it also stimulates the economy by providing new employment and cutting power expenses.
Fortunately, Australia is one of the world’s sunniest nations. Nature has gifted the nation with vast clean energy resources, which like gold and silver if exploited to the best of their ability, may make a major impact.
We’ll go through the top 10 biggest solar farm in Australia in this post.
Top 10 Biggest Solar Farm In Australia
The following is a list of the top 10 solar projects in Australia, however, they are far from the only noteworthy ones:
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Limondale Solar Project
First on the list of biggest solar farm in Australia is the Limondale solar project. Balranald Shire’s south side is where the farm is situated, as the name implies. It was Australia’s biggest scale solar facility upon completion. Initially held by Downer Group, a top-notch solar manufacturing business, who were the developers, it was subsequently bought by the German corporation RWE, another industry leader in solar technology.
Details:
- Nominal Capacity MWac: 313
- Voltage (kV): 220
- Location: Balranald Shire, New South Wales, Australia
- Direct Capacity MWp: 349
- Operational Since: 2020
- Company: Inoggy
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Darlington Solar Project
At 150 MW, the farm is the second-largest in the nation for solar power generation. Additionally, one of the important elements of this project is its electricity delivery to Australian families.
More than 1 million solar panels will power 110,000 houses in New South Wales, providing low-cost yet clean energy to the state’s residents.
Details:
- Commissioned: November 2020
- Direct Capacity MWp: 333
- Nominal Capacity MWac: 275
- Voltage (kV): 330
- Company: Octopus Investments and Edify Energy
- Location: Murrumbidgee, New South Wales, Australia
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Bungala Solar Project
An enormous amount of electricity can be generated by the Bungala Solar project. Several wind and solar energy projects, as well as energy storage facilities, are in the works in Port Augusta. The farm includes of 2 phases, each having a 100MW capacity.
Details:
- Company: Reach Energy
- Nominal Capacity MWac: 220
- Commissioned: May 2018
- Direct Capacity MWp: 276
- Voltage (kV): 132
- Location: Port Augusta
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Sunraysia Solar Project
The Sunraysia Solar Farm is another amazing project in Southern Australia. Although it has been functioning since 2019, significant areas of the farm are still under development.
Details:
- Nominal Capacity MWac: 200
- Direct Capacity MWp: 228
- Voltage (kV): 220
- Commissioned: 2020
- Company: John Laing Group
- Location: Balranald Shire
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Wellington Solar Project
In Australia’s New South Wales (NSW), the Wellington solar plant has a 400MW capacity and is one of the biggest. Light-source, a well-known British solar energy design business, was responsible for the project.
Details:
- Direct Capacity MWp: 213
- Nominal Capacity MWac: 174
- Voltage (kV): 132
- Company: BP Lightsource
- Commissioned: 2020
- Location: Dubbo Regional Council
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Daydream Solar Project
One of Australia’s most promising solar power projects, Daydream Solar Farm may provide a significant amount of renewable electricity to those living in the country’s southeast. For its 180.0 MW DC output, the Daydream Solar Farm in North Queensland uses just one axis of tracking.
Details:
- Installed Capacity: 180.0 MW DC
- Company: Edify Energy
- Generation: 398,000 MWh per annum
- Commercial Operation: August 2018
- Location: Whitsunday Region
- Household coverage: 55,000
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Suntop Solar Project
The Suntop is a massive solar power plant capable of generating enough electricity to run a large-scale PV system. Large-scale PV solar systems, both single-axis and ground-mounted, are critical to the success of any solar project. The Suntop Solar facility now has a clean energy capacity of 395 GWh thanks to such systems, which deliver electricity to tens of thousands of Australian families in bulk.
Details:
- Direct Capacity MWp: 189
- Nominal Capacity MWac: 150
- Company: Canadian Solar
- Commissioned: August 2021
- Location: Dubbo Regional Council
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Coleambally Solar Project
One of the most innovative and powerful solar projects in Australia is the Coleambally Solar Farm. Its peculiarity is derived from its focus on the local community and the $20,000 annual community fund it maintains as a result. Solar farms provide several advantages to the surrounding community, including a more environmentally friendly environment, new jobs, and foreign investment.
Details:
- Firm: Neoen
- DC Capacity MWp: 188
- Capacity MWac: 150
- Voltage: 132
- Since: 2018
- Location: Murrumbidgee
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Finley Solar Project
Located in New South Wales, Australia, Finley Solar Farm is a PV power plant created by ESCO Pacific, which spent around $170 million on the project. The facility has a lot of potentials and may serve as a model for other similar projects in the area.
Details:
- Direct Capacity MWp: 175
- Production Capacity: 170MW
- Operational Since: 2019
- Voltage (kV): 132
- Firm: John Laing Group
- Place: Berrigan Shire
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Sun Metal Solar Project
Adding to Queensland’s impressive list of energy-generating endeavors is the Sun Metal solar farm. The zinc used in the project is the most environmentally friendly since it is the most cost-effective. With a $200 million investment, Sun Metals started its renewable energy journey in 2018 with the construction of a 143MWAC solar power plant.
Details:
- (kV): 132
- Firm: ESCO Pacific Palisade
- MWac: 116
- MWp: 148
- Since: 2018
- Site: Townsville
The difference in solar power plans
The majority of clean energy activities are solar farms and renewable energy facilities, which will be the focus of this article. Renewable energy production initiatives that are more focused on the whole picture are undertaken by businesses or governments.
Due to our unique emphasis on solar energy generation, however, we will only feature the most energy-capable solar farms/projects, as well as those with the greatest operational and commercial success rates, on this page.
Australia’s reliance on renewable energy sources
More than 100 renewable energy projects are now under development or are already producing electricity in Australia thanks to the efforts of the Australian energy industry and government incentives.
Solar, wind, and biofuel projects are among the many on the list.
The combined value of these projects is roughly $18.9 billion, with a renewable energy capacity of 11,335 MW, according to official government data.
What a tremendous boost to the country’s energy supply! There are also plans to generate more than 13,000 new employment as a result of these construction endeavors.
Australia’s solar energy initiatives (state-wise)
Australia has taken advantage of the green market to create more sustainable energy projects around the nation in recent years, as solar prices have plummeted.
According to the Australian Renewable Energy Association, the following states have the most renewable energy projects per capita:
- New South Wales: 29
- Queensland: 20
- Victoria: 21
- Northern Territory: 5
- South Australia: 25
- Tasmania: 0
- Western Australia: 9
On a per-capita basis, Australia is one of the top countries taking substantial advances toward renewable energy production, even if the number of projects is small compared to those in China or Germany.
Australia’s renewable energy initiatives
Green energy relies heavily on solar electricity, which has the greatest potential of all of the available technologies. Australian solar projects, planned or finished, show that our country isn’t falling behind nations like Germany and China in terms of solar development.
The 22 projects that were finished during the epidemic have contributed 800 MW to the electricity pool, despite the fact that the development and projected operation of several solar projects have been halted.
In addition, the sector’s overall power capacity has been increased to 3.9 GW, which improves the percentage of solar to renewable energy in Australia from 9.3% to 10.9 %.
Australia’s huge solar challenge
Despite the fact that Australia receives the greatest total radiation of any continent, solar energy only accounts for less than 1% of Australia’s primary energy use at now.
The discussion on solar power does not match the potential clean energy possesses, as is the case in other countries.
For the most part, Australia’s renewable energy resources remain underdeveloped, and the nation still depends significantly on fossil fuels.
Accordingly, if the United States is serious about combating climate change and lowering greenhouse gas emissions, it is imperative that the country’s solar potential be adequately and extensively examined.
Conclusion
One of the most recent Australian solar farms, Bungala, is situated in the state of South Australia.
The project’s anticipated 110MW power capacity will be authorized in 2020. Upon completion, the project provided 220MW of electricity to the south Australian power systems and offered enormous job prospects for the region.