150 jobs could be created locally during the construction phase of proposed the Metz Solar Farm to be built at Hillgrove, around 20 kilometres east of Armidale in New South Wales.
If the full 100MW capacity is constructed, the solar farm will generate enough clean electricity to supply up to 40,000 average homes – more than half of all households in the New England region.
Over its projected 30-year operating lifetime, the facility will avoid approximately 225,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent and the consumption of 350,000 megalitres of water ( compared to a coal-fired power station).
The facility will be based on solar panels that will either be mounted in a fixed tilted position or on a single axis tracking system in order to boost output.
The site was chosen for its topography, ease of grid connection and of course, for its solar resources. On average, Hillgrove receives solar irradiation levels of around 4.88 kilowatt hours per square metre daily; around the same as Armidale itself.
The project’s Environmental Impact Assessment is expected to be submitted this month and construction has been penciled in for late 2018; with completion by early 2019.
Metz Solar Farm’s developers state the project will deliver significant benefits to the Armidale area and the wider community. In addition to the jobs created during construction, up to 15 full time local jobs will be available once completed.
Information sessions for the surrounding communities of Armidale and Hillgrove were recently held and the project seems to have the support of Parliament secretary for renewable energy and the area’s MP, Adam Marshall.
A number of large renewable energy projects are proposed for the New England region of New South Wales according to The Northern Daily Leader; including a $170m solar farm at Narrabri, a $101m wind farm at Woolbrook and a $1.2b wind farm on the edge of the Liverpool Plains.
Earlier this month, Starfish Initiative executive director Adam Blakester said the region was in a “strategic position”; being situated halfway between south east Queensland and Newcastle, Sydney and Wollongong.
“We’ve got the potential over the next couple of years to be a major exporter of renewable energy into the two largest population areas of Australia,” he said.
