Australia green lights 450-MW Hazelwood North Solar Farm

This will power around 150,000 homes.

Construction of the 450-megawatt (MW) Hazelwood North Solar Farm in Victoria has commenced after it was granted a planning permit approval by the Allan Labor Government.

The $651-m solar project, which will be the largest in the state, will power around 150,000 homes and eliminate around 700,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Aside from the solar farm, the project will also have a 450 MW, four-hour battery energy storage facility that will store solar power during the day and feed it into the grid when needed.

Around 500 jobs will be created during the project’s construction. 

Last year, renewable energy sources contributed 39% to Victoria’s total energy capacity, thanks to the addition of 78 new large-scale projects with a combined capacity of 5.34 gigawatts (GW).

These projects contribute to Victoria's renewable energy targets, aiming for 65% by 2030 and 95% by 2035, respectively. To support these goals, the state has also set energy storage targets of at least 2.6 GW by 2030 and 6.3 GW by 2035.