WIRSOL Energy has announced the completion of the 60MW Gannawarra Solar Farm, which is now operating at full capacity, having received approval from the Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) for passing all commissioning tests.
Additionally, WIRSOL’s largest solar project to date, Wemen Solar Farm, has achieved first generation in an impressive eleven months – creating over 600 jobs in various capacities during this time.
At 110MW DC, Wemen Solar Farm has approximately 319,000 modules installed across an area of close to 700 acres, becoming one of the largest solar farms in Victoria to be generating clean, renewable electricity.
The two projects combined will provide enough energy to power the equivalent of approximately 52,100 Victorian households, whilst preventing the emission of approximately 390,000 tonnes of CO2per year.
Furthermore, Gannawarra Solar Farm’s retrofitted 25MW/50MWh Tesla powerpack battery, Gannnawarra Energy Storage System (GESS), has reached its own project milestone, completing the construction phase ahead of schedule.
GESS’s owners, WIRSOL and Edify Energy, have overcome some unique regulatory and technical challenges to become the first battery storage system that has been retrofitted to an existing solar farm. The facility holds great significance and further demonstrates the great opportunity for integrating large-scale battery storage with solar projects.
Mark Hogan, Managing Director of WIRSOL, said, “We are delighted to reach two crucial milestones at Gannawarra Solar Farm. The overall project and how it has evolved is unique to the industry which in turn sets a benchmark for future projects, which enables the ability to optimise the delivery of energy at peak times supporting demand throughout the daily cycle.
Mr Bruce James, Interim CEO and Executive Director of RCR Tomlinson, said, “RCR is proud to have delivered the Gannawarra and Wemen Solar Farm projects on time and has helped add to WIRSOL’s Victorian energy projects. These projects continue RCR’s track record of delivering state of the art solar generation facilities.”
