The new 119 megawatt (MW) Horsham solar farm in western Victoria has connected to the grid for the first time, the first part of what will likely be the state’s first solar-battery hybrid project.
The $370 million Horsham solar project, also known as the SEC Renewable Energy Park, will now start working through its commissioning phase, with the first of the battery modules for the 100 MW, 200 MWh storage component to be delivered later this year.
The Horsham solar project was a winner of one of the state-run renewable energy auctions, but sat idle until the state owned SEC bought the project in 2024 and transformed into a solar-battery hybrid.
It will be one of the first in the state, if not the first, depending on progress at the Fulham solar and battery project, which is yet to connect to the grid.
Solar and battery hybrids now dominate the renewable construction market, because of their competitive costs and ease of build, although they remain a relatively new technology.
The first was completed in Western Australia at Cunderdin last year, and last month the first solar-battery hybrid in the National Electricity Market, at Quorn Park in NSW, was formally opened.
SEC’s head of assets Lane Crocket says the SEC Renewable Energy Park will be fully operational in 2027 and will play an important role in Victoria’s energy transition.
“It will support the state’s planned retirement of key coal assets, including Yallourn, which is scheduled to close in 2028,” Crockett said.
““What we are marking today is one of the most important milestones on any renewable energy project as it moves from construction to contributing renewable energy to the grid.”
The Horsham facility will also be notable as one of Australia’s first 100 per cent publicly owned, utility scale renewable energy projects, and the first to be built from scratch in Victoria.
Solar-battery hybrids have proved popular in Victoria, but the state government has since turned its priorities to more wind farms as it prepares for the closure of the Yallourn coal fired power station in June, 2028, and the remaining Loy Yang coal generators in the 2030s.
Wind projects have proved more difficult to get to financial close, and the SEC has also stepped in to develop the 205 MW Delburn wind project in eastern Victoria, one of only two wind projects currently being built in the state.
The SEC says the Horsham solar farm will now proceed through two preparation stages, known as hot commissioning and hold point testing. This staged process includes gradually switching on and testing different parts of the solar farm, including the substations, transformers, underground cables, inverters, and other electrical equipment.
More than 400 people have worked on the project to date, including around 20 apprentices and trainees, and many trades people from the local community/
The solar farm features 212,296 solar panels, a tracker system, a 162.5-tonne transformer, switch room substation and high-voltage infrastructure, cables and earth grid.
In 2026, SEC will invest $126,000 through the fund across the Horsham local government area, combining three years’ worth of funding during the construction phase of the project. Grants of up to $25,000 per project are available for initiatives that strengthen local connections, build resilience and create positive outcomes for the community.
The fund will invest $3 million in local projects, initiatives and services over the project’s lifetime.
