Solar Power in the Hunter Valley

 A solar Hunter Valley revolution is happening on the rooftops of homes and businesses in Hunter Valley. These systems are reducing electricity bills and reliance on the grid.

The site of the closed Liddell coal-fired power station is to be turned into a solar manufacturing hub. The federal government will fund production subsidies and grants.

Balickera Pump Station

Hunter Water has taken the first power from its biggest solar energy installation, helping to drive large pumps at Balickera Pump Station. The 3.1MW system has doubled the company’s previous generation capacity and is expected to deliver substantial annual savings.

The electricity is generated from 5,500 ground-mounted PV panels across three hectares adjacent to the pump station, positioned in two sections on either side of the Balickera Canal. The project included environmental rehabilitation with more than 1,500 plants and trees planted, reducing the visual impact of the array.

Abergeldie also completed a remediation upgrade of the Balickera Tunnel, part of the Williams River to Grahamstown Dam transfer network. The 1.2km tunnel is known as a significant roosting site for threatened microbat species and the construction work had to be undertaken under a strict Biodiversity Impact Management Plan. The team developed a new methodology for rock bolt installation, doubling productivity and achieving a 4m/12-hour shift, saving significant costs to the client.

Goulburn River Solar Farm

The Goulburn River Solar Farm is a 585MWdc solar photovoltaic (PV) project that features a Battery Energy Storage System. It is located between Wollar and Merriwa villages in the Upper Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. It will generate 1.3 terawatt hours of renewable energy annually, and save 910,000 tonnes of carbon emissions. It received development consent in August 2024 and approval under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act in October 2024.

It is one of the first large-scale solar-plus-storage projects to enter construction in Australia. As a mitigation measure, the developer will purchase biodiversity offsets to compensate for the habitat loss caused by clearing.

The $880 million project will provide a significant capital investment in the region, creating jobs and reducing carbon emissions. It will also improve the regional road network and boost local economies. Get the full picture with this in-depth report that outlines the core details of the plant, including its technology, capacity, status, owner stakes, and more. Turbocharge your new business development efforts with this essential resource that puts you in the know.

Maison Dieu Solar Farm

The Environmental Impact Statement for the Maison Dieu Solar Farm has been put on exhibition on the NSW Planning Portal. Located approximately 10 kilometres north-west of Singleton within the Hunter-Central Coast REZ, the project comprises the construction, operation and decommissioning of a large-scale solar energy facility with an integrated Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), on site electricity substation and connection to the National Electricity Grid through an existing Ausgrid substation.

Originally slated to have a capacity of 150 MW, the proposed Maison Dieu project was reduced to 60 MW after taking into account community feedback. The project will also include a BESS with two hours of storage capacity, providing stability to the grid and displacing fossil fuel generation.

The project will be constructed and operated by Ratch Australia, the local subsidiary of Thailand-based energy firm Ratch Group. In a similar arrangement to the 152 MW Marulan solar farm and BESS developed by Terrain Solar which was acquired by AGL Energy earlier this year, Ratch will build and maintain Maison Dieu, which is expected to be completed this year.

Hunter Energy Hub

The project will transform the site of AGL’s Liddell and Bayswater power stations into an integrated energy hub, integrating grid-scale batteries, solar thermal storage, wind, and pumped hydro. The hub will also support green advanced manufacturing and recycling industries, as well as creating new jobs in the region.

AGL and solar module recycling company Elecsome have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to develop a solar PV recycling plant in the Hunter Valley, Australia. The facility will upcycle 500,000 residential and grid-scale solar modules per annum, providing valuable materials for future generations of solar cells.

The MoU is one of several projects being explored as part of the AU$10 million round of funding under the Solar Sunshot program. Other projects include a feasibility study by Solquartz into developing a solar-grade polysilicon production plant in Queensland and $4.7 million for Stellar PV to investigate low-emissions ingot and wafer production. The projects will provide significant benefits to the local community and Australia.

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