UQ and First Solar to construct solar PV research facility

The University of Queensland (UQ) has signed a contract with First Solar for the construction of a solar photovoltaic (PV) research facility - set to be Queensland’s largest solar power installation - at the university’s Gatton campus.

First Solar will install its advanced, thin-film cadmium telluride PV modules on a 12.6 ha former airstrip site. There, the 3.275 MW pilot plant will feature more than 34,000 panels in a ground-mounted array.

A $40.7 million federal government grant, via the Education Investment Fund (EIF), is funding the installation, which is also part of an AGL Energy project supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Electricity is due to start flowing by the end of next year.

UQ’s Property and Facilities Division will project manage the delivery of the plant and associated high-voltage infrastructure, as well as a research building at Gatton and a data hub control room at the university’s St Lucia campus. The division also will manage and operate the plant on completion.

The new research facility will augment UQ’s 1.22 MW PV array, which was completed at St Lucia in Brisbane in 2011. The Gatton plant will also serve as the pilot for two much larger solar farms that AGL Energy and First Solar are building in western NSW - at Nyngan (102 MW) and Broken Hill (53 MW) - in a $450 million scheme to create Australia’s largest solar power plants.

Professor Paul Meredith, of UQ’s Global Change Institute and the School of Maths and Physics, said the new facilities and associated research program are designed to support the early-stage commissioning and operation of the main power plants in NSW.

Professor Paul Meredith, University of Queensland.

“Components of our research will focus on energy storage, plant optimisation, power systems and the impact of renewable energy on the National Electricity Market,” Professor Meredith said.

“We will be able to test new technology and concepts at a meaningful scale and our work will help build national capacity for research in solar power deployment.”

UQ’s President and Vice-Chancellor, Professor Peter Høj, added that the installation will also have local benefits “for campus energy supply and for UQ research, teaching and community engagement”.

First Solar Vice President of Business Development for Asia Pacific Jack Curtis said, “The Australian local solar industry is gaining momentum with the recent financial close of our two utility-scale projects in Nyngan and Broken Hill in NSW.

“The knowledge gained through the construction and operation of large-scale, grid-connected solar power stations will help solar energy play a greater role in meeting Australia’s electricity needs. The research facility will provide the opportunities for technological advancement that will ensure we can maintain this momentum for future projects across the country.”