$880 million Goulburn River Solar Farm to go ahead

The federal government has approved the 450-megawatt Goulburn River Solar Farm, a project budgeted at $880 million and which will include a million solar panels, a battery storage system, and upgrades to the surrounding road.

According to a statement from federal environment minister Tanya Plibersek on Monday, the Upper Hunter region project – located between the Central-West Orana and the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zones – will support as many as 350 jobs during construction and 10 full-time jobs when operational.

The Environmental Impact Statement for the project, owned and operated by Lightsource bp, was submitted in May 2023. It received NSW government approval in August. 

The state government said at the time that the project was amended to include road upgrade works in response to community feedback, construction of a workers accommodation facility, and a revised the project area “to further avoid potential biodiversity impacts.”

It is expected to create “enough electricity for 191,000 homes” and reduce greenhouse gas emissions “by 733,000 tonnes per annum” according to the statement on Monday.

According to its webpage, the project will generate an estimated 4 per cent of NSW’s demand when operating at peak output.

Bp bought into developer Lightsource in 2017, forming a joint venture, and announced in November last year that it would acquire the remainder of the company.

Picture: credit Lightsource bp