State’s biggest solar project, partially built by robots, is fully commissioned

The new biggest solar farm in Victoria is “fully commissioned and officially handed over” to its operators, bringing an end to a fascinating construction journey that put a range of autonomous robotic technologies to the test.

The 250 megawatt Goorambat East solar farm, near Benalla in the north of the state, is the first solar project to be built in Australia by Engie, which also owns the Hazelwood battery in the Latrobe Valley, which was built at the site of the shuttered coal plant.

Engie bought the project from Neoen in 2023, and much of the project had been completed towards the end of last year, when the first bursts of electricity were sent to the grid.

But contractor Equans ANZ has announced the official construction close and project handover this week.

“That’s a wrap on Goorambat East Solar Farm – a 250 MVA project in Victoria, now fully commissioned and officially handed over to O&M,” Equans ANZ project engineer Vincent Fendel said on LinkedIn on Tuesday.

“What an achievement from every team involved in delivering this project on time.

“From November 2024 to June 2026 – from the very first trench to the very last string test – this project has been a remarkable journey. I’m incredibly proud of what we built together.”

Image: Vincent Fendel, Aquans ANZ, LinkedIn

Goorambat East is one of a number of solar projects in Australia trialling robotic technologies to accelerate and lower the cost of normally labour- intensive installations.

As Renew Economy has reported, it has used several different companies to demonstrate how their technologies can automate the installation of pilings and solar module mounting.

Among them, Boston-based Luminous Robotics received a $4.9 million grant from the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (Arena) to test its a panel installer robots, which Luminous CEO Jay Wong said were able to install 103 per cent more modules than the contractor’s usual shift target. 

Chinese company Leapting also ran a trial on the Goorambat East project of its technology which is said to be able to replace a human team of up to four people and allow heavier panels to be installed.

Goorambat East was also a test bed for an auto-pile driver from Build Robotics, also funded by Arena.

The robot trials were driven by contractors Bouygues Construction Australia and Equans Solar & Storage Australia, but Engie hopes they will eventually bring down the cost of construction. 

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