The Metz Solar Farm installation, which will generate 100MW of power, has been approved for a property in Hillgrove, which is east of Armidale. The project will be one of the largest in New South Wales.
Metz Solar Farm Installation – Details
The farm will comprise of 400,000 panels and, according to Northern Tablelands MP Adam Marshall, will power 40,000 homes and produce almost 10% of New South Wales’ solar output.
“This is an enormously exciting project not only for Armidale and the Northern Tablelands, but for all of NSW,” he said.
The Northern Tablelands already has some large projects in the works, such as the Moree Solar Farm and three wind farms between Glen Innes and Inverell. This means the area currently has 821MW of large scale renewable energy development approved, or in the construction phase. Some great news for New South Wales solar farms and we hope to see a lot more built over the coming years.
The farm, which represents a $130 million investment, will be developed by Infinenergy Pacific and, according to their website, will reduce CO2 emissions by 225,000 tonnes and save 350 mega litres of clean drinking water over its 30 year lifetime. It’s undecided yet whether the PV panels will be mounted in a fixed tilt position or using a single axis tracking system.
According to the Infinenergy Pacific website over 15 different locations in the Armidale area were considered but they ended up with the final site due to the simple grid connection options onsite, the good transporation links and site access, and the ‘low visual impact’ (rolling topography and extensive local shielding) – so it won’t be a pain for residents.
Work on the farm will commence in early 2018 and is expected to finish in early 2019. It will be decommissioned after 30 years. The construction phase of the farm will generate around 150 full time jobs, and another eight ongoing positions will be required for maintenance and upkeep.
