Community engagement relating to a proposed 5-megawatt solar farm in Byron Shire in New South Wales’ Northern Rivers region has started with an on-site information session.
The proposed solar farm will be located on land owned by Council at 1 Dingo Lane, Myocum; which is situated adjacent to the Byron Resource Recovery Centre. In May this year, Council resolved to allocate $465,000 to progress the Dingo Lane Solar Farm project to detailed feasibility and procurement phase.
“Council is engaging with the community early so that there is a clear understanding of the perspectives of the Byron Shire community with regards to a solar farm of this size before Council commits to the DA process,” said Council’s Project Manager, Andrew Swan. “It’s important to know of any potential impacts on the community so that Council can look at mitigation options and assess the overall risk versus the community benefit this solar farm project would bring.”
The benefits for Council (and ratepayers) from the Dingo Lane Solar Farm project will be substantial.
According to a fact sheet regarding the project, Council consumed 6.4 megawatt-hours of grid supplied electricity in 2018/19. It’s assumed that was meant to read 6.4 gigawatt-hours (6,400 megawatt-hours).
The Dingo Lane project will generate approximately 11,460 megawatt-hours of electricity per year says the fact sheet, with the surplus electricity providing revenue and potentially offsetting Council’s other emissions – 68% of which are attributed to its waste sector.
Solar panels will be ground-mounted and occupy 6.3 hectares of the 73.53 hectare Dingo Lane property. The forecast of 11,460 megawatt-hours of annual generation may be a little optimistic for a fixed system, but could be achievable if trackers are used.
Council is currently carrying out glare and flooding assessments of the proposed site that will be shared with the community when completed, and additional community meetings will also be held in 2020. All going well, a development application for the project could be submitted next year.
Byron Shire Council has committed to achieving 100% net zero emissions for its operations by 2025 and sourcing 100% of its electricity requirements through renewables by 2027. As at early June this year, it had installed more than 215 kW of solar power capacity on Council assets.
Big Appetite For Small-Scale Solar Power In Byron Shire
Byron Shire punches well above its weight on solar energy in terms of small-scale PV thanks to the efforts of its residents. In June we mentioned approximately 34.2% of dwellings had solar panels installed as at March 2019 (Source: APVI). By September the proportion had increased to approximately 36.2%. The estimated percentage of dwellings in New South Wales with PV installed is 20.4%.
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