Australia OKs 450-MW Goulburn River Solar Farm

Nearly 200,000 homes will benefit from this.

The Albanese Government has approved the 450-megawatt Goulburn River project, a solar farm in Upper Hunter that will feature one million solar panels and a battery storage system.

According to authorities, the project is located between the Central-West Orana Renewable Energy Zone (REZ) and the Hunter-Central Coast REZ, and will have direct access to the existing electricity transmission network.

The Goulburn River project will be able to generate electricity for 191,000 homes. It is also expected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 733,000 tonnes per annum, which is equivalent to taking 220,000 cars off the road for a year.

“I’ve ticked off enough renewable energy projects to power the equivalent of more than 7 million Australian homes,” said Tanya Plibersek, minister for the Environment and Water.

“That’s enough energy to power every home in New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, the Northern Territory and Tasmania,” she added.

Construction on the solar project begins in the third quarter of 2024 and will be completed in 18 to 24 months.