The state of Western Australia is deploying an over 180 megawatt solar park in the south west

• Ambitions to construct a 183-megawatt solar park in the southwestern part of Western Australia are most likely to be approved by the end of the week.

The $250m solar farm is being deployed near Waroona by Melbourne company South Energy. The developer is planning to supplement the facility with a battery of up to 20 megawatts. 

About half a million photovoltaic panels will be based on single-axis tracker system to maximize the system direction toward the sun. At the same time, there will be a considerable distance between the panels placed rather high above the earth. The latter will allow using the land for continued agricultural purposes, most likely as sheep pasture. 

Mid-West/Wheatbelt is quite likely to approve the solar project, under observance of a few standard conditions. 

As well, South Energy is planning to create a 100 megawatt solar park in Harvey Shire. 

Besides, there is a proposal for $150m solar facility installation in Benger on the area of almost 190 hectares located in the southwestern part of W.A. 

The state is now experiencing a boom in creation of utility-scale green power systems, with the launch of 100 megawatt Merredin project by Risen Energy in July. 

As well as 207 megawatt Collgar wind park situated in the proximity, the above solar facility is going to become – at least for some time – the biggest of the kind within the state. In the future, the plant will probably be provided with a storage battery to guarantee uninterrupted production during peak demand. 

Moreover, 560 megawatts of new renewable energy farms have been put into operation in WA during the year. In addition, 400 megawatts more (mostly consisting of wind power) is supposed to be finished during the following year.