Largest Solar PV Plant in Australia Makes Critical Step Forward
The Nyngan Solar Plant in New South Wales has successfully made it through the last decisive step of its early days of operation.
By Balazs Szekely, Associate Editor
New South Wales, Australia—The Nyngan Solar Plant in New South Wales has successfully made it through the last decisive step of its early days of operation. The solar farm has ramped up to full generation for the first time, AGL Energy Limited announced. Construction of the plant started in January 2014, it started generating this March and it is now feeding 102 MW of renewable energy into the national grid, enough power for 33,000 households annually. The developer is now conducting final commissioning and testing ahead of the plant being fully operational later this year.
Located on an agricultural property around 6 miles from the Nyungan townsip, the solar plant occupies approximately 618 acres of land north of the Barrier Highway. Along with its 346-acre, 53 MW sister plant in Broken Hill, the facility is part of $440 million AGL solar project, which is funded by $166.7 million from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency and $64.9 million from the New South Wales Government. The Broken Hill plant has also reached a significant milestone recently, with 35 percent of the 650,000 solar PV modules installed.
AGL is one of Australia’s leading integrated energy companies owning, operating and developing renewable energy generation facilities throughout the continent. AGL’s power generation portfolio includes base, peaking and intermediate generation plants, spread across traditional thermal generation as well as renewable sources including hydro, wind, landfill gas, solar and biomass. In the last decade AGL has invested more than $3 billion in renewable energy projects.
