New 600 Hectare Solar Power Plant for Southern New South Wales

Dutch energy company Photon Energy has made plans for a 316-megawatt solar plant north of Canberra in New South Wales.

Construction of the 600-hectare power plant will start in 2019 and will have the largest power output in New South Wales. The plant will be located near Gunning, which is an hour’s drive north of Canberra.

Michael Gartner, Photon Energy’s Australian managing director said the plant will be brought online in 30-megawatt blocks over the 12-month building period and with each block estimated to be able to power 15,000 households.

Once the power plant is completed and fully operational, Gartner said that the plant will be able to feed enough power for 150,000 homes into the national energy grid and indirectly powering homes in the ACT.

The initial construction will give hundreds of jobs, including trade jobs, with a crew of 20-30 required to run the plant once it is operational. Acting Energy Minister Mick Gentleman said the plant would not directly power Canberra homes, but it would contribute to the national renewable energy target.

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