Australia’s biggest solar farm reaches peak output, now to host 6,000 sheep

The New England solar farm, which shares equal billing as the biggest operating solar project in Australia – for now – has reached peak output for the first time, and is now hosting and offering shelter to more than 2,000 merino sheep, a number that is expected to triple in coming months.

The New England solar project, being developed by Acen Australia, will be the biggest operating solar plant in Australia when its full capacity of 720 MW across two stages is complete.

For the moment, however, it has only completed the first 400 MW stage and so has to share top billing with Neoen Australia’s Western Downs solar farm in Queensland.

Around one million solar panels have been installed across 1,200 hectares at the site for the first stage, which is located to the south of the New England town of Armidale in the heart of the newly declared New England Renewable Energy Zone.

Acen also believes that the flock of sheep that it will be hosting on the site will also be the biggest for a solar farm in Australia.

Contrary to what is often peddled by right wing activists – the Gina Rinehart-backed Institute of Public Affairs has embarked on its latest scare-mongering tour in regional Victoria, warning that renewables will destroy farming land – the practice of “solar grazing” is well established.

Robin Doyle, who grew up on a large sheep farm in western NSW and is now a workplace health and safety advisor at New England solar, is overseeing the release of sheep across the solar farm site and says the sheep keep the grass down and appear to like the shade.

“The sheep will be on the site for about six weeks at a time and they have made themselves perfectly at home,” she says.

Doyle says the panels offer shade from the hot sun and rain, protection from aerial predators for their young lambs, and some ewes have even given birth under the panels.

“The panels rotate as they track the sun and this balance between light and shade is great for new grass growth. It’s just heaven for hungry sheep.”

The second stage of the New England solar farm will begin construction soon, following its win in the first generation tender held by the NSW government, and will be accompanied by a 200MW, two hour (400 MWh) battery, although that battery could grow considerably over time

“It’s a great sight to now see agriculture co-existing with renewable energy in such a positive way,” ACEN Australia managing director David Pollington said.

“The project will provide enough clean renewable energy to power around 300,000 homes, but it’s also providing a really productive space where sheep can graze, protected from the harsh elements, particularly during hot conditions.

“We’re extremely pleased to celebrate another important milestone for the project, the farming community and the energy transition underway across the country.”

Acen is involved in a bunch of other projects, including the 420 MW Stobbo solar farm in NSW – another winner in the first NSW tender – as well as the Birriwa solar and Valley of the Winds and Aquila wind projects in NSW.

It is also behind the Robbins Island and Jim’s Plain wind projects in Tasmania, where a fierce court battle has been fought over proposed restrictions on output to protect migratory birds.

There are plans to introduce more sheep on the New England site from other landholders, taking the solar grazing mob to more than 6,000 sheep in total, which Doyle suspects will be the biggest associated with a solar project in the country.