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Yarranlea Solar Farm

The biggest solar power plants in Queensland.

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Over the years, the state has seen a significant increase in solar power plants as it aims to transition to a more sustainable energy future. In this article, we will take a closer look at 7 of the biggest solar power plants in Queensland.

  1. Western Downs Green Power Hub Located in Chinchilla, this solar power plant has a capacity of 400 MW and covers an area of 540 hectares. It is currently the largest solar power plant in Queensland and one of the largest in the country. The project was developed by Neoen and completed in 2020. The solar farm generates enough electricity to power 235,000 homes annually. Visit their website here: Western Downs Green Power Hub
  2. Haughton Solar Farm Located in the Burdekin Shire, this solar power plant has a capacity of 500 MW and covers an area of 1,200 hectares. The project is being developed by Pacific Hydro and is expected to be completed in 2023. Once completed, the solar farm will generate enough electricity to power 180,000 homes annually. Visit their website here: Haughton Solar Farm
  3. Western Downs Solar Project Located in Dalby, this solar power plant has a capacity of 350 MW and covers an area of 540 hectares. The project was developed by Neoen and completed in 2019. The solar farm generates enough electricity to power 235,000 homes annually. Visit their website here: Western Downs Solar Project
  4. Brigalow Solar Farm Located in the Western Downs Region, this solar power plant has a capacity of 120 MW and covers an area of 160 hectares. The project was developed by Lighthouse Infrastructure and completed in 2019. The solar farm generates enough electricity to power 36,000 homes annually. Visit their website here: Brigalow Solar Farm
  5. Ross River Solar Farm Located in Townsville, this solar power plant has a capacity of 148 MW and covers an area of 202 hectares. The project was developed by Palisade Investment Partners and ESCO Pacific and was completed in 2018. The solar farm generates enough electricity to power 54,000 homes annually. Visit their website here: Ross River Solar Farm
  6. Clare Solar Farm Located in Ayr, this solar power plant has a capacity of 100 MW and covers an area of 120 hectares. The project was developed by Fotowatio Renewable Ventures and completed in 2018. The solar farm generates enough electricity to power 42,000 homes annually. Visit their website here: Clare Solar Farm
  7. Kidston Solar Project Located in Kidston, this solar power plant has a capacity of 50 MW and covers an area of 160 hectares. The project was developed by Genex Power and completed in 2017. The solar farm generates enough electricity to power 26,484 homes annually. Visit their website here: Kidston Solar Project

In addition to these solar farms, there are many other solar projects currently being developed in Queensland, with the state aiming to reach its target of 50% renewable energy by 2030.

It is clear that solar power has a bright future in Queensland, as the state continues to invest in large-scale solar projects and pave the way for a cleaner, more sustainable energy future. With its abundant sunshine and vast open spaces, it’s no surprise that Queensland is leading the charge in solar energy in Australia.

As the world continues to shift towards renewable energy, it’s exciting to see the progress being made in Queensland, and it will be interesting to see what new solar projects will be developed in the years to come.

If you’re interested in learning more about solar power in Queensland or how you can make the switch to renewable energy, there are many resources available online, including the Queensland Government’s official website on renewable energy.

In conclusion, Queensland is home to some of the biggest solar power plants in the country, with the top 10 solar farms listed above leading the way in generating clean, renewable energy for the state. With more solar projects in the pipeline, Queensland is well on its way to achieving its ambitious renewable energy targets and creating a more sustainable future for generations to come.

 

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Darling Downs Solar Grid Risks

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A substantial rise in solar PV farms on the Darling Downs risks causing major issues with energy supply networks if urgent grid updates are not undertaken to ensure the Darling Downs solar grid is future-proofed.

Darling Downs Solar Grid

According to The Chronicle, six projects worth almost $2 billion are planned for the Darling Downs region over the next few years. This includes a 5000-hectare plant at Millmerran (the largest solar farm in Australia), and the $200 million, 100MW Yarranlea solar farm.

State Minister for Energy, Biofuels and Water Supply Mark Bailey told the Toowoomba and Surat Basin Enterprise National Energy Summit “at this stage” the Queensland Government don’t have any grid upgrades for the Toowoomba area planned – noting that they have upgraded the transmission line in North Queensland “because we’ve got so many projects happening there.” Bailey said that “…we will continue to review our system to make sure we can facilitate these projects.”

Federal Minister for Resources Senator Matthew Canavan was also drawn into the conversation, advising that we should be careful with the amount of renewable energy we source if we don’t have a clear path forward with regards to grid stability: “We shouldn’t push renewables up above 40% without a proper plan of knowing how to keep the lights on when renewables are not there,” he said. “That’s what they did in South Australia and they put their own state and businesses there at great risk.”

Darling Downs Solar Yarranlea
Yarranlea Solar Plant (source: yarranleasolar.com.au)

The Chief Executive of Yarranlea Solar, Nick Canto, said that “major infrastructure upgrades” were required as the existing grid will not have the capacity to deal with the increased power load. Canto was also quoted on the 11th discussing Toowomba and the Surat Basin’s ‘extensive electrical transmission network’ – so it looks like he’s more worried about the grid’s ability to deal with such a large amount of renewable energy from multiple solar farms.

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Toowoomba Solar Farms – Yarranlea Solar Farm and Maryrorough Solar

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Solar Farms in Toowoomba

A battle waged by Maryrorough Solar and local residents over a proposal for the creation a solar farm outside Pittsworth, Toowoomba has been settled yesterday. The Toowoomba Regional Council narrowly approved the development. Council vote was decided at 6-2, with Deputy Mayor Carol Taylor and Cr Mike Williams against the proposal, which had already been recommended by council planning officer Peter Swan.

Maryrorough Solar DA

The submitted plans were for Maryrorough Solar to build a 40mw solar farm on 186 hectares of land at Yarranlea (65 Roche Road) due to its close proximity to a substation. It attracted six submissions against approval. Some of the arguments those opposing the PV solar farm put forward were the ‘unsightly look of the panels’, the ‘lights at night’, ‘glare’, the potential for dust nuisance, flooding, and weed management. Another submission, whose author seemed very concerned about farmers and agriculture in Toowoomba, queried how the council could approve ‘an inappropriate change to such a large tract of fertile farming land’.

Yarranlea Solar

Yarranlea Solar
Yarranlea Solar (source: yarranleasolar.com.au)

Last December, Yarranlea Solar had a $200m, 100mw project (The Yarranlea Solar Farm at 752 Murlaggan Road – around 45km south west of Toowoomba) approved. The Yarranlea Solar Farm will create 100mw (enough energy to power up to 32,000 homes). The project will involve around 400,000 PV solar panels and, according to the project director Nick Canto, will also create around 200 construction jobs for the area.

At the time at least 18 people objected to the project, who lodged their Development Approval in in July 2016, citing concerns about ‘rural amenity’, stormwater, ‘preservation of agricultural land’ and ‘light from the project’. Presumably they were also quite concerned about the solar farm’s effect on fertile farming land but in any case the project was approved by the TRC.

Both Solar farms will be sustainably created and decommissioned (including full removal of all physical technology) after their 30 year running time, at which point the land will be returned to its previous state and remain suitable for agricultural purposes. There remains, however, the option for extensions depending on what technology is like at that point. On that note, Yarranlea are also assessing the usage of Lithium-Ion and Zinc Bromide Flow batteries for energy storage. No decision on which technology type they chose has been announced as yet. Also no word on if Maryrorough Solar will be utilising energy storage in their PV farm but still early days yet. It’ll be very interesting to see how energy storage, as a rapidly evolving and game-changing technology, factors into the solar farms being built over the coming months and years.

It’s great to see (the majority of) council being sensible about these sorts of situations and helping Australians move forwards with solar power in Toowoomba and Queensland in general, which generates the highest amount of solar power out of any state in Australia.

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