A planning application for a $1.7 billion solar farm was lodged with Burdekin Shire Council in north Queensland this week.
Haughton Solar Farm will be built at Upper Haughton, some 50 km south-east of Townsville.
The site is in close proximity to a 275 kV transmission line, which is part of the national grid. It is expected that the Haughton Solar Farm will connect directly to this line from the site.
The large scale solar PV facility will have battery storage capability and generate up to 500 MW. This is enough to power approximately 170,000 homes.
Each of the one million solar panels in stage one will be between 2.5 to 3 metres high and approximately 2 metres wide.
Sugarcane fields give way to solar arrays
The joint project is between local sugarcane farmer David Cox and Pacific Hydro. Pacific Hydro is owned by China’s State Power Investment Corporation.
If the first stage, worth $850 million, is successful, a second stage will add another 500 MW, bringing total cost to $1.7 billion.
The solar farm will occupy an area of approximately 1,181 hectares of grazing land owned by sugarcane farmer David Cox.
The land was earmarked for irrigated sugarcane farming, however Mr Cox was unable to secure water allocations.
The Haughton Solar Farm is expected to be operational for 25 years. It will consist of:
- Site office/ warehouse building
- Car parks and temporary lay-down area
- Solar panels constructed in a grid pattern
- An area for future battery energy storage opportunities
- Power conversion units on skids (including inverters, transformers and ring main units)
- Electrical substation
Sun Metals Solar Farm begins construction
Meanwhile, in mid-May, construction began on another solar array 15 km south of Townsville.
The Sun Metals Solar Farm will have a total capacity of 98.5 MW with an option to expand to 116 MW. One million solar panels will be used for the project, which will cover up to 130 hectares.
The solar farm will be connected to Sun Metals’ existing 33/132 kV substation via a 33 kV overhead transmission line, and will supply power to the Sun Metals Zinc Refinery.
