A drone photo of the property earmarked for the $6.7m solar farm which has an irregular shape with a total area of 26.23 hectares previously used for the growing of barley.
An application for a $6.777 million solar farm in Wemyss Road Mulwala which would power up to 2,000 homes for a year has been approved and is on track to be completed by end of this year.
Hold tight - we’re checking permissions before loading more content
Federation Council have been advised of the approval of the application for the “regionally significant development” from the Western Regional Planning Panel.
Known as 'Weymss Road Solar Farm', construction by South Australian company YES Group is expected start next month on the planned site approximately 5kms north-west of Mulwala.
YES Group Business Developer Haydn Yates confirmed construction on the exciting project will start in August, with a “practical completion” date expected in December.
“We are using at least three local contractors for various support in addition to our specialist technicians and the peak work force will be 12,” Mr Yates said.
The Mulwala Waters Solar Farm will have 11,808 panels, with a maximum tilt of 60 degrees and a module peak height of 2.6 metres.
Once operational the solar farm will employ one local operational and maintenance co-ordinator and one service technician.
The property earmarked for the solar farm has an irregular shape with a total area of 26.23 hectares previously used for the growing of barley.
“The site will deliver over 12,000,000 kWh (or 12 GWh) of clean energy into the grid per year.
“That’s probably about what 2,000 homes would use in a year,” Mr Yates said.
The Weymss Road Solar Farm has been specifically designed to have minimised visual impact from the adjacent roads, neighbouring properties, and dwellings.
Once constructed, the Weymss Road Solar Farm would utilise tracking, ground-mounted solar photo-voltaic (PV) array with a capacity of up to 5MW AC. It will supply approximately 12 gigawatt hours (GWh) of electricity per year into Essential Energy's 33 kV distribution network.
There are 11,808 panels, each over half a kilowatt each (545W per panel), totalling 6.44MW of ‘DC’ power into the inverters for export.
At a maximum tilt of 60 degrees from the horizontal, the peak height of the modules will be 2.6 metres.
The Commonwealth and NSW Governments have recognized the need to supplement energy derived from fossil fuels with energy generated from renewable sources.
The proposed Weymss Road Solar Farm aims to fill the gap in the mid-sized plants. It will contribute to renewable energy supply to supplement electricity generation from coal, oil and gas and assist to reduce reliance on these unsustainable means of supply.
The proposed development is in accordance with relevant objects of the Environmental Planning and Assessment Act 1979 in that it will assist to generate power to be distributed to the residents of NSW thereby promoting the social and economic welfare of the community in a manner that manages and conserves natural resources.
It would be the second solar farm approved for Mulwala - the first approval being in respect of the proposed development at Savernake Road but nothing has started on the ground as yet despite approval some two years ago.
