With last year’s financing of the 425MWdc Wellington North Solar farm in NSW and the smaller Wunghnu solar farm in Victoria, Lightsource bp has become the largest solar developer and owner in Australia.
Gransolar started construction on both projects under early work agreements late in 2022 and is currently working with ICN to identify local suppliers for Stage 2 of the Wellington North Solar Farm.
The solar farm site, about 5km North of Wellington, is expected to include more than 750,000 PV panels, 104 medium voltage power conversion stations and associated plant.
It will connect into the national electricity grid via an overhead line into the TransGrid’s 330KV Wellington substation.
The project has been approved by the NSW Department of Planning Industry and Environment and construction is expected to create about 400 jobs.
The solar farm is adjacent to Lightsource bp’s 200MWdc Wellington solar farm, currently under construction. Once operational, both sites will create a solar hub with a combined installed capacity of 625MWdc.
This will generate enough power for about 152,500 homes and be equivalent to taking 244,000 cars off the road.
With these new solar farms, as well as its Wellington, West Wyalong and Woolooga projects, Lightsource bp now has more than 1GWdc of generating capacity in construction and operation in Australia, enough to power over 350,000 Australian homes.
In a press release issued in December 2022, the Managing Director, Lightsource bp Australia and New Zealand, Adam Pegg, said the company had a “significant pipeline” of large-scale solar projects underway, with more to come.
“This growth has been enabled by the strong support from our customers, lenders and the local communities in which we operate, and we are extremely grateful for this backing and are proud to be front and centre in the clean energy transition in Australia,” he said.
“Australia needs more clean, low-cost energy in the power system to drive down costs for consumers, meet rising demand, combat climate change and improve energy independence. The outlook for solar in Australia and the region is incredibly strong, with increasing political support, greater investor certainty and capital looking to participate in the sector.
“We see the acceleration of renewables happening more rapidly than previously anticipated and expect our operations in Australia to make a significant contribution to meeting Lightsource bp’s global target of 25GW of solar by 2025.”
Gransolar is using ICN Gateway to call for expressions of interest in several work packages related to electrical and civil works, building and warehouse facilities and high voltage installation. More packages are likely to be released as construction progresses.
For more information or to lodge and expression of interest go to the Wellington North Solar Farm Gateway page.
