Glenrowan West solar farm completes commissioning in Victoria

The Glenrowan West solar farm between Benalla and Wangaratta in Victoria has been completed and declared fully operational, complete with a “sizeable” flock of sheep.

Project manager Wirsol Australia said on Thursday that construction and commissioning of the 149MW (110MW AC) solar farm had been completed and it was now ready to supply about 265GWh of renewable energy a year, enough to power 41,000 households.

“With construction finished, the site has also become home to a sizeable flock of sheep, which are there to help manage the vegetation whilst fulfilling their previous agricultural roles for local farmers,” Wirsol said in an a statement.

“The use of sheep to maintain vegetation mean that significantly less mowing and spraying is required, thus reducing both carbon emissions and herbicide use, while allowing land management to occur in a sustainable manner.

“This forms part of WIRSOL’s ongoing commitment to sustainable agri-solar practices which are being implemented on several solar farms within our portfolio and provide an ideal outcome for the power plant, local farmers and the environment as a whole.”

The project is owned by German-based solar developer Wirtgen Invest, which acquired the project in January, marking the company’s first move into the Australian renewables market.

The project’s EPC contractor was the wholly-owned Australian subsidiary of US-based Signal Energy, appointed in February.

See also RenewEconomy’s Large Scale Solar Farm Map of Australia