Solar Plant Taking Shape at Iconic Broken Hill

The heritage listed destination synonymous with Mad Max and the birth of Australia’s mining sector will soon be home to one of the country’s largest solar farms.

ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the first of around 650,000 panels had recently been installed by First Solar at AGL Energy Limited’s (AGL) $150 million Broken Hill solar photovoltaic (PV) plant.

“When complete, the 53 MW plant will power up to 17,000 homes with renewable energy,” Mr Frischknecht said. “Construction is well underway with all of the module-holding posts and brackets installed and supporting electrical connection works complete.”

The Broken Hill plant is part of the $440 million AGL solar project. The project is advancing large-scale solar energy expertise in Australia by constructing solar power stations in Nyngan and Broken Hill with $166.7 million ARENA support and $64.9 million NSW Government support.

Mr Frischknecht said the latest milestone followed the final panel installation at AGL’s Nyngan solar plant and added to a growing number of successful large scale solar projects in Australia.

“To mark the milestone, Broken Hill City Council Mayor Wincen Cuy and General Manager Therese Manns will tour the Broken Hill plant on Wednesday ahead of the sixth community consultation,” Mr Frischknecht said.

“As with Nyngan, the local Broken Hill community has been involved every step of the way, demonstrating how renewable energy initiatives can benefit regional Australia.

“Half of the 85 people currently working on the Broken Hill site are from the local region, with the workforce expected to rise to approximately 150 during peak construction.

“The Broken Hill site is an ideal location for a solar power plant. It has one of the highest levels of solar radiation in NSW and a nearby existing substation for effective connection into the National Electricity Market.

“The plant is already benefitting from lessons learned at Nyngan. AGL plans to draw on the knowledge of employees who worked on Nyngan to assist with training and continuous improvement for Broken Hill and future solar projects.”

The Broken Hill plant is scheduled for completion in late 2015 and the Nyngan plant is scheduled for completion in July 2015.