The construction of a 100MW solar farm 45 kilometres west of Toowoomba is expected to start early this year after recent approval from the Australian Electricity Market Operator (AEMO).
Yarranlea Solar Farm will be developed in four stages and once completed, the project will generate enough electricity to supply the energy needs of the equivalent of up to 32,000 homes.
According to Yarranlea Solar, the facility will also include a battery storage element. The capacity of the energy storage system hasn’t been provided, but the area designated for “battery store” is given as 368m2.
It’s expected up to 200 jobs will be created during the construction phase of the plant, which will see more than 400,000 solar panels installed at the site.
The clean power station will connect to the grid using existing Ergon Energy infrastructure adjacent to the development site, which will transmit electricity into Toowoomba via the Middle Ridge Bulk Supply Substation.
At the end of the facility’s service life (up to 60 years), all physical infrastructure will be decommissioned and the land returned to its former agricultural use. Infrastructure removal will take up to 6 months, with a further 6 months for a soil reclamation and crop planting phase.
The Toowoomba Chronicle reports Yarranlea Solar Farm should be completed by the end of this year.
“Finalising the Connection Agreement with Ergon Energy Corporation and AEMO now paves the way for Yarranlea Solar to finalise its capital funding arrangements with our equity partner, and an announcement of these arrangements will be made in the near future,” said the company in its December update.
Not All Sunshine And Puppies
Some legal biffo broke out last year in connection with Yarranlea Solar’s project.
In July 2017, the director of the company filed a notice of appeal with Queensland’s Planning and Environment Court concerning the approval of a 40MW project that will be situated adjacent to Yarranlea.
The basis of the appeal is a claim the project conflicts with Toowoomba Regional Council’s Planning Scheme and insufficient grounds to justify approval of the application despite the conflict. Among the concerns is the development will place additional load on existing infrastructure that will have an adverse impact on other approved energy facilities.
Toowoomba Regional Council approved the Yarranlea Solar Farm project in December 2016, and the 40MW facility in April 2017.
The appeal is scheduled for review on the 24th of this month.
In other recent solar power news from the Toowoomba region, last week we reported Australia’s Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC) has committed $55 million in debt finance to the 55MW Oakey 2 solar farm project.
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