Consent secured for Townsville solar farm

ESCO Pacific, a developer of utility-scale solar projects, has secured planning consent for the development of a 135 MW solar farm near Townsville — an area which receives high solar irradiance and an average 320 days of sunshine annually.

The solar farm will comprise 450,000 photovoltaic modules, identical to the millions of solar panels installed across residential rooftops across Australia. The solar panels will be installed on ground-mounted frames that will slowly track the daily horizontal movement of the sun.

Townsville City Council recently voted in favour of the $250 million project, which will see the solar farm built on a disused mango plantation at Ross River. The 202 ha site is in close proximity to the grid connection point at the Ross Bulk Supply Substation and is free from environmental constraints.

“We have worked closely with the council and the local community to address the limited number of concerns raised by local residents,” ESCO Pacific Managing Director and founder Steve Rademaker said.

“We are pleased with the final outcome, which includes conditions to mitigate and protect visual amenity.”

When operational, the solar farm will generate renewable energy to meet the annual power needs of approximately 50,000 average households. ESCO Pacific is currently working with Powerlink, the local transmission network operator, to secure a grid connection contract.

The solar farm is expected to take 12 months to build, with work to commence in early 2017. Construction will create in excess of 150 construction jobs and, when operational, the facility will employ up to five full-time and 10 part-time positions.

“This is a fantastic outcome for the Townsville region,” said Rademaker. “In addition to the considerable benefits of renewable energy generation, the project will create jobs and help develop the necessary skills in what is proving to be a growth industry for the region.

“Ross River is the first of a number of similar projects that we intend to develop over the coming years.”