While we wait to hear what our new deputy prime minister and leader of the National Party thinks of renewables, a new big solar project has been proposed for his home town.
Solar company Green Switch Australia has this week visited the Wagga Wagga suburb of Gregadoo to float its plans to build a 47MW PV farm on grazing land, near the local tip.
Commercial director of Green Switch, Simon Grasby, said the project would cover 91 hectares of land, comprise about 122,000 solar panels, and generate enough energy to power 15,000 households a year.
Grasby said the company hoped to submit their application to the NSW Department of Planning and Environment by April and, if approved, start construction of the solar farm in late 2018.
The plan was to connect to a large substation operated by TransGrid, which Grasby said offered a direct link to the electricity network “to minimise any complications.”
“Our design is quite well advanced and things like our visual impact assessment and noise assessments are all completed, so we’re now talking to the community to get their views,” he said, as reported in the local paper.
The project is one of a number in the development pipeline for Wagga Wagga, which was named as the centre for a potential renewable energy zone in a major report put together by NSW network operator Trasngrid and the Australian Energy Market Operator. (See map above.)
Another 2.5MW project by Global Solar Farms was given the green light last September for development in Bomen.
