Canberra’s ‘solar highway’ has been extended with the completion of the Williamsdale Solar Farm which adds 36,000 solar panels to the city’s renewable infrastructure.
The Williamsdale facility will generate 21,900MW of energy each year, enough to power around 3,000 homes.
Canberra’s ‘solar highway’ runs from Majura Parkway in Canberra’s north to the Monaro Highway in the south and is comprised of four solar farms: Mt Majura Solar Farm, the Mugga Lane Solar Park, the Royalla Solar Farm and the Williamsdale Solar Farm.
ACT Minister for Climate Change and Sustainability, Shane Rattenbury, said, “Canberra is already making great progress tackling greenhouse gas emissions, and this large-scale solar project will substantially boost our ability to realise our ambitious vision of a clean energy future.”
The ACT has commitmented to producing 100 per cent of its electricity from renewable energy by 2020, and to producing zero net greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest.
The owner of the Williamsdale facility, Impact Investment Group, has agreed to make the farm available to researchers and students.
“Now home to some of Australia’s newest and most innovative solar technology, facilities like Williamsdale will be a great asset for renewable energy researchers and students from the ANU, University of Canberra and CIT to continue their crucial research and education,” Mr Rattenbury said.
The completion of the Williamsdale Solar Farm means that all three projects in the ACT’s large-scale solar auction have been completed. The 20MW Royalla Solar Farm was completed in August 2014 and the 13MW Mugga Lane Solar Park was completed in November 2016 and will be launched in early 2017.
