Burkedin Shire Council has approved a proposed 300MW expansion of Pacific Blue’s Haughton Solar Farm and the construction of a new 200MW BESS (battery energy storage system).
Located in north Queensland’s Burdekin Shire, Pacific Blue’s existing 100MW Haughton Solar Farm would be expanded with an additional 1154ha of solar panels to deliver a total of 400MW of solar power, enough for an additional 110,000 homes.
In an important move towards building grid stability, the 200MW BESS will provide energy storage for a duration of over two hours, which can be charged by the solar farm and released to the grid as required, such as at nighttime or during other periods of peak demand.
Pacific Blue CEO, Domenic Capomolla, said the development approval of stage two is an important milestone in the drive towards achieving the nation’s ambitious energy targets and a boost to the local economy through job creation.
“Once this stage is complete, Haughton Solar Farm is expected to have a generating capacity of up to 500MW and enough power for around 290,000 homes. This project is the second stage of the four-part plan for Pacific Blue’s Burdekin Renewables Hub.
“When fully realised, the plan for the renewable energy hub will also include a 500MW wind farm powering up to 200,000 homes, and a 250MW/eight hour pumped hydro energy storage scheme that will support an additional 140,000 homes. This generation capacity combined with the ability to store and deploy energy as needed will make significant inroads towards Queensland’s and Australia’s renewable energy transition.
“Importantly, the expansion and development at Haughton Solar Farm is set to give a boost to the local economy through the creation of 405 full time jobs and ten permanent roles,” he said.
Mr Capomolla said Pacific Blue has been humbled by the support of the Burdekin Shire Council and surrounding community since commissioning Haughton Solar Farm in 2019, and looks forward to continuing important partnerships with local organisations through the Haughton Sustainable Community Fund.
“The Community Fund shares the benefits of the Haughton Solar Farm with the surrounding communities, and since launching, the Fund has provided more than $400,000 to more than 60 important local projects.
“It is one small way we can share the benefits of the solar farm and show our commitment to the community in return,” he said.
As part of Queensland’s ambition to integrate agricultural activities into solar farm projects, Pacific Blue has been running an agrisolar trial involving 100 Dorper sheep on the Haughton site.
Mr Capomolla said that employing an agrisolar strategy at the Haughton site has seen the both the agriculture and renewable energy sectors share the land for energy generation and sheep grazing.
“We’ve been running a trial at the Haughton Solar farm since 2022 and so far, we’ve seen extremely encouraging outcomes,” Mr Capomolla said.
“The landscaping and vegetation management costs on site have been reduced by $500,000, and the wellbeing of the sheep has improved. A clear demonstration of the benefits and potential from agrisolar and we look forward to continuing this important trial.”
Featured image: Pacific Blue
