Another big solar farm plugs into the grid, this one to help power the NBN

The 75MW Wyalong solar farm has been officially opened after “going live” and starting injections to the grid, and is backed by a power purchase agreement from Australia’s NBN Co, operator of Australia’s National Broadband Network.

Located in the Riverina area of New South Wales, the Wyalong solar farm features around 127,000 panels over  260-hectares. It is operated by Greek renewables firm Mytillneos.

At full capacity, the solar farm will generate enough electricity to power the equivalent of 27,000 Australian homes, but most of its output is contracted to the NBN, which is to take approximately 90GWh each year, or around 62% of the expected output.

The off-take agreement is a significant contribution towards the NBN Co’s goal of 100% renewable purchases by December 2025, a goal announced back in December 2021.

NBN Co followed this commitment up in May of this year by committing to long-term greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and a goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, or sooner, and the 10-year Wyalong solar farm power purchase agreement (PPA) is the first in a series of planned by NBN.

“Not only is the Wyalong solar farm another step in our target of 100 per cent renewable electricity purchases from December 2025, it is also supporting the creation of local jobs, with knock-on benefits to the local community and economy,” said Stephen Rue, the CEO of NBN Co.