17 September 2015, Renew Economy, Broken Hill solar plant achieves first generation. The 53MW Broken Hill Solar Plant in New South Wales has begun generating into the grid, with half of the 53MW solar plant completed. Four months after the first PV modules were installed on the site near Broken Hill in the state’s west, the $150 million AGL Energy-owned project began generating, with the first 26MW of renewable energy feeding into the National Electricity Market. AGL executive general manager of group operations, Doug Jackson, described the event as a major milestone for the project that, once completed, would be Australia’s second largest utility-scale solar installation, behind the 102MW Nyngan plant, also in NSW. AGL has developed the Broken Hill and newly completed 102MW Nyngan solar plants in partnership with First Solar, and with $166.7 million funding support from ARENA and $64.9 million from the NSW government. Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) CEO Ivor Frischknecht has welcomed the achievement of first generation at Broken Hill, hailing the big solar project as a first of many. Read More here
Category Archives: Solar
8 September 2015, ARENA, Three months on and Nyngan is flying. The largest solar power plant in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere in Nyngan, NSW, is fully operational and has generated 60,000 MWh of renewable energy to date, according to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Since achieving full generation in June 2015, the plant has been sending 102 MW of solar-generated electricity into the National Electricity Market. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the successful beginning of Nyngan’s operations was a significant milestone in the development of Australia’s large-scale solar sector. “AGL’s Solar Project at Nyngan and Broken Hill represents a big investment by the company and also by ARENA,” Mr Frischknecht said. “It’s already achieving one of ARENA’s key aims of increasing the amount of renewable energy in Australia. “And the knowledge gained from its successful launch and ongoing operations will lead to further improvements in technology and reductions in costs for the sector.” The solar plant, a partnership between AGL Energy Limited (AGL) and First Solar, is expected to produce around 230,000 MWh of electricity annually which is sufficient to meet the needs of approximately 33,000 NSW homes. Read More here
26 August 2015, Climate News Network, Solar power takes giant strides as prices fall. Massive solar power stations are being built in the world’s “sun belts” − with the US and India competing to have the largest in the world. The US Navy is investing in what will be the largest solar farm in the world in order to provide power for 14 of its bases. The climate of Arizona, where the two earlier phases of the Mesquite solar farm are already up and running, provides 300 days of sunshine a year. And the Navy’s deal to extend the farm is the largest purchase of renewable energy ever made by a US federal government agency. The solar farm project is one of a growing number being installed across what is known as the American Sun Belt − the southern states of America, which have expanding populations, plenty of sunshine, but also large areas of arid and unproductive land. The price of solar panels has now fallen so far worldwide that, in sunny climes, they can compete on cost with any other form of energy generation. This new generation of huge solar farms produces as much power as a large coal-fired plant. Read More here
12 August 2015, Australian Renewable Energy Agency, Key milestone passed at Australia’s biggest solar project. The first photovoltaic panels have been installed at Moree Solar Farm (MSF), Australia’s largest solar array currently under construction.The farm, on 280 hectares in northern New South Wales, will supply 140,000 megawatt-hours (MWh) per year – enough electricity to power 15,000 homes and abate 95,000 tons of carbon pollution each year. It will use a single-axis horizontal tracking system, allowing 222,880 solar panels to follow the sun for maximum efficiency. The first panels were installed in June and at last count almost 100,000 had been put in place. Read More here