Broken Hill 53MW solar plant nears full generation, as last PV modules installed

Australia’s second-largest utility-scale solar plant, the 53MW Broken Hill solar farm in New South Wales, is on track to be fully operational by the end of the year, after the last of the project’s advanced photovoltaic modules were successfully installed.

The developer of the project, First Solar, announced the milestone on Monday, a little under a month after the plant achieved first generation, when an initial 26 MW of renewable energy started feeding into the National Electricity Market.

BH - Looking North - 1

Partnering First Solar on the $150 million project are AGL Energy (the plant’s owner), the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) and the NSW Government.

Together with the 102MW Nyngan Solar Plant, the completed Broken Hill Solar Farm will help produce approximately 360,000MWh of electricity annually – enough to power 50,000 average Australian homes.

AGL’s executive general manager of group operations, Doug Jackson said the was currently generating up to 27MW of renewable energy into the grid, with the remaining 26MW expected to be brought online later this month.

BH - Block 02 - Sturt Desert Peas in Arrays - 1

Jack Curtis, First Solar’s Regional Manager for Asia Pacific said the plant’s advanced Cadmium Telluride (CdTe) modules  – of which 677,760 are installed, so far – offered significant advantages over typical crystalline silicon modules, particularly in a hot climate like Broken Hill.

“Just six months after Australia’s largest solar plant at Nyngan was switched on, we are now another step closer to completing Australia’s two largest utility-scale solar plants in the same year,” Curtis said.

Ian Kay, the acting CEO of ARENA – which has contributed $166.7 million in funding to Nyngan and Broken Hill – pointed to the $350 million the agency, along with the CEFC, had available to accelerate further growth in the large-scale solar PV sector.

“There is a real sense of momentum driving large-scale solar in Australia today,” Kay said in a statement.

And federal environment minister Greg Hunt added his voice, too, to those commending this latest advancement at Broken Hill; even managing to claim some of the credit, via ARENA, despite the fact that the Abbott-led Coalition’s plans to dismantle ARENA.

“This ARENA-supported project is an excellent example of our commitment to boost renewables innovation in the 21st century and will help pave the way for more large-scale solar plants to be built across Australia,” Hunt said in a statement on Monday.

“This Government is delivering more than $15 billion in support for renewables and lower emissions.,” he said.

Comments

17 responses to “Broken Hill 53MW solar plant nears full generation, as last PV modules installed”

  1. Bob Bingham Avatar

    Australians are amongst the biggest polluters on the planet and are completely committed to coal mining so it needs to do considerably more to curb its emissions. The change of leader has not changed the policy.

  2. James Moylan Avatar
    James Moylan

    Such a pretty picture! Onya First Solar & AGL. No doubt this will be the first of a great many similar ventures which will eventually liberate many of our western towns from their current situation of having to rely on completely crappy and really expensive electricity systems. This is a big win win win for business, consumers, and the environment.

    1. James Moylan Avatar
      James Moylan

      NOTE: This may usher in a whole new regional development dynamic that has been under-appreciated.

      As large-scale broad-footprint urban electricity grids that are attached to the main population concentrations begin to fail due to structural problems (more expensive electricity = fewer customers = more expensive electricity = ) will this lead to a boom in light industry in the smaller towns that have embraced the new paradigm?

      Will the decentralization of generation capacity be accompanied by a decentralization and migration of economic activity?

      1. Andrew Thaler Avatar
        Andrew Thaler

        The installation ‘boom’ is very short lived, as after these things are constructed they require very little maintenance. Also, they are all made elsewhere and transported in. Any specialist technical maintenance is done remotely via the inter webs or a technician travels out from the city to fix it. (As SMA have been doing)

        1. Rohan Goddard Avatar
          Rohan Goddard

          Easy to nay-say now, isn’t it?
          Increase demand and we might find it profitable to reinvigorate manufacturing in this country by making… solar panels?

          What’s your plan? Keep burning coal? Even India and China want to stop importing our dirt. They recognise the economic benefit of moving to energy independence by renewable means.

          Even if this is part-public funded, the agreement would include provisions for shared profits, or the money paid back. The government only gives out free cash to the fossil industry.

          ed – I see now you’re quite into the solar industry. So the middle paragraph is most irrelevant. I still feel as though your field of view seems narrow on the economics of this.

          1. Andrew Thaler Avatar
            Andrew Thaler

            Mate, I build Solar. I own the 408kW Singleton Solar farm, the 70kW Superdome Solar array and the Nimmitabel Solar farm…
            I wasn’t ‘nay-saying’.. I was being realistic. We will never setup large-scale solar manufacture in OZ. If it was ever profitable we would have tried harder… Solar and BP gave it a red hot go.
            Look at wind turbines.. GE make 100% of them off-shore and will continue to do so. Even cement will shortly be produced in Asia and shipped to Oz… at least the blue metal and sand will still be quarried here 🙂

          2. Rohan Goddard Avatar
            Rohan Goddard

            Well not with an attitude like that – even the industrial revolution wouldn’t have ever happened!

          3. Andrew Thaler Avatar
            Andrew Thaler

            I assume you have watched ‘Utopia’ on the ABC lately… it isn’t fiction mate, not even a comedy. It is a mirror.

          4. Rohan Goddard Avatar
            Rohan Goddard

            I haven’t taken the time yet – but am well aware of it. Having read some more on your operation I’ve got to congratulate you.

            Still, some more optimism won’t go astray.

            But back to the topic at hand: am wary of AGL. And wouldn’t mind hearing the details of the public contribution, payback scheme etc.

          5. Andrew Thaler Avatar
            Andrew Thaler

            Thanks for your compliment. I thought my purchase of the solar farms and PV arrays was a fairly solid demonstration of my ‘optimism’ 🙂
            I’ve been around the ‘Solar’ game for 20+ years now… I just want to inject a little more realism into the debate/conversation.
            Basically:
            We invent it
            China makes it
            We, and the rest of the world, install it
            Govt tries to ‘regulate it’ & fails.
            The whole world benefits.

            Rinse and Repeat.

    2. Andrew Thaler Avatar
      Andrew Thaler

      Not correct. The energy from these farms would most likely be exported directly into TransGrid lines and provide no benefit whatsoever to the locals. AGL will be on-selling it to their city customers.

      1. Brian Davids Avatar
        Brian Davids

        Actually, a large proportion of that energy would be lost in transit (they have a technical word for it). So in effect, it doesn’t really help anybody.

  3. Andrew Thaler Avatar
    Andrew Thaler

    So: some 53% government funding poured into this project… who do we really have to thank but ourselves.. the mug-taxpayers footing the lionshare of the bill

    1. Roger Brown Avatar
      Roger Brown

      Arena is a govt. renewable LENDING Business and makes a return to tax payers.

      1. Giles Avatar

        Nope, that would the CEFC. Arena is a grants based organisation and not required to generate a return. Although it is asked to be sensible.

  4. Richard Thompson Avatar
    Richard Thompson

    It’s interesting that Hunt referred to “renewables innovation” in his statement, I presume that this would mean that wind power would also be “innovation” Hmmm.
    What proportion of the $15billion is to be paid to the dirty industrialists to lower their emissions? I’d like to see the details?

  5. oibob Avatar
    oibob

    So many asses on both sides of politics here. I’m just really happy that such a large project has been completed- polarising for our time but undoubtably a step in the right direction for humanity’s future. I am however curious about how far $150 would have gone if spent on other types of energies. That would make for an interesting comparison. Still, awesome stuff Aussies

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