Barwon Water has awarded the contract to design and build its first solar energy project, a megawatt-rated solar farm, at the Black Rock environmental precinct.
Beon Energy Solutions was awarded the contract which will include a 2,880-panel solar array that will feed renewable energy directly to the Black Rock Water Reclamation Plant.
The project will generate around 1,300,000 kilowatt hours of electricity — sufficient to power about 300 homes — and save around 1,500 tonnes of CO₂ emissions annually.
The solar farm will mean about 13 per cent of the treatment plant’s electricity is supplied from a renewable source with Barwon Water aiming to power its sites with 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025.
The solar project will save more than $130,000 in annual operating costs and is expected to pay for itself within 11 years.
The project is expected to be by December 2017.
