A development application for solar farm boasting more than 1.7 million solar panels and a big battery was lodged with Queensland’s Toowoomba Regional Council last week.
Skylab Australia’s proposed Punchs Creek Renewable Energy Project is intended to be constructed in two stages; with a final PV capacity of up to 800MW (AC), plus a 250MWh battery storage system.
According to current documents, at this point it’s intended Longi solar panels will be used – 1,745,632 of them. The plans indicate the model to be used is the “LR5-72HIBD-550M”, which is part of the Longi Hi-MO 5 line-up.
On the inverter and battery side of things, it appears Ingeteam gear will be deployed. But assuming the project goes ahead in the not-too-distant future, the battery system may not make an immediate appearance. One of the documents accompanying the application notes:
” As technology improves, it is anticipated that grid energy storage will be utilised to store electrical energy during times when production exceeds consumption and returned to the grid when production falls below consumption.”
Skylab Australia says it has a 30 year + lease option on the parcels of land involved and the project has already obtained ” significant support” from the local community.
The site is approximately 1.25 hours’ drive south-west of Toowoomba. Skylab Australia says the Punch’s Creek Renewable Energy project is to be situated in the heart of the South West Queensland Renewable Energy Zone, but that beastie doesn’t exist. The company probably means the Southern QREZ, which will incorporate the Toowoomba region. The Southern QREZ already has a strong pipeline of proposed clean energy projects and much of the renewable investment in the region to date has been in solar energy generation.
One of the very attractive aspects of the site for Skylab Australia is it has direct access to the Powerlink Transmission Network. It’s intended the facility will connect to the existing 330kV Millmerran to Middle Ridge ETL.
The Punchs Creek Renewable Energy Project application and supporting documents can be found here.
Among other projects in Skylab Australia’s portfolio is the Gunsynd Solar PV & Battery Storage project, which is to be located south-west of the township of Goondiwindi in Queensland. Consisting of up to 94MW solar capacity and 20MW(h?) of battery storage, construction is expected to commence in the second quarter of this year with view to full generation achieved next year.
All Solar Great And Small In Toowoomba’s LGA
The Toowoomba Regional Council area has been a hotbed of large-scale PV project activity – but it’s also a small-scale solar powerhouse.
The Australian Photovoltaic Institute (APVI) estimates approximately 32.6% of free-standing and semi-detached dwellings in the local government area have rooftop solar power installations. Just in Toowoomba, solar panels are a very common sight; with more than 14,874 small-scale systems installed to the end of last year. Residents of the region are spoiled for choice, with a bunch of great solar installers servicing Toowoomba to choose from.
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