Australia’s Victoria to get its first large-scale solar plants
Work starts in April, and a fifth of new generation built to meet a target of 40 per cent renewable electricity by 2025 would be large-scale solar
By Adam Morton
After years of unfulfilled promises, Victoria, Australia, is on the cusp of getting its first large-scale solar power stations. Three farms in the state’s northwest are promised to be operating by the start of next year.
Australian company Overland Sun Farming plans to start work in April on separate fields of solar photovoltaic panels at Yatpool, Iraak and Wemen, creating about 200 construction jobs.
With a combined output of 320 megawatts, they are expected to produce enough electricity to power Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo when running at full capacity.
The $500 million (US$383,957,500) announcement comes amid a heated political debate over the future of energy. The Turnbull government is attacking Labor state governments and the federal opposition for supporting ambitious renewable energy targets, and considering taxpayer funding for new coal-fired power stations.
Overland Sun Farming chief Brett Thomas said the three farms would rely on incentives from the bipartisan national renewable energy target to be built, but that the price of solar had fallen to a point where they did not have to wait for a planned Victorian scheme.
Under the Andrews government’s policy, a fifth of new generation built to meet a target of 40 per cent renewable electricity by 2025 would be large-scale solar.
