Million-panel solar farm in NSW gets federal approval

The 600-megawatt Birriwa Solar and Battery Project in NSW’s central west has been given federal approval, with environment minister Tanya Plibersek claiming this as “another big step” towards the nation becoming a renewable energy superpower.

In a statement on Monday, the project west of Dubbo was described as including approximately a million solar panels and the ability to generate “enough energy to power 229,000 NSW homes”.

It will be part of the Central West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) transmission network, which became the nation’s first REZ to gain planning approval for transmission lines in June. 

According to project developer ACEN Australia, Birriwa will create 400 jobs during construction and up to 15 when operational, and cover an “area of approximately 1,200 hectares of mostly cleared grazing land”. 

The statement from Plibersek puts the figure at “around 500 direct jobs in construction” with 20 ongoing jobs when built.

The Birriwa project includes a centralised battery energy storage system “of up to 600 MW for 2 hours” and “enable energy from solar to be stored and then released during times of demand.”

“I’ve ticked off more than 55 renewable energy projects in two years – enough to power almost 7 million homes,” said Plibersek.

Picture: credit ACEN Australia

Further reading

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