South Australia is committed to using that sweltering sun to their advantage, as they are about to install a $1 billion worth solar farm that would create around 300MW and store around 100MW of clean energy per year. The plant consists of 3.4 million solar panels and 1.1 million batteries, and it is expected to become fully operational later this year.
The Lyon Group, which is a partnership of three conglomerates, has taken up the construction of the giant solar farm in the Riverland region of South Australia, which should commence within the next few months. The Riverland solar farm is being termed as the world’s largest integrated project using the world’s largest single battery, as claimed by the Lyon Group.
Green told The Guardian,
“We see the inevitability of the need to have large-scale solar and integrated batteries as part of any move to decarbonize. Any short-term decisions are only what I would call noise in the process.”
The solar farm is being built on a privately acquired land and is funded by investors, which according to the Lyon Group will act as a significant economic stimulus for the region. If the plans go smoothly, the Lyon Group looks to build a similar system near Roxby Downs as well, with the plans greatly enhancing South Australia’s electricity capacity.
Jay Weatherill, Premier of South Australia since 2011, talked about the effort saying,
“Projects of this sort, renewable energy projects, represent the future.”
The South Australia government have also announced a $150 million power plan for the renewable technology fund, which will include funding for a 100 MW battery in upcoming weeks; with Weatherill revealing Lyon Group’s interest in winning the project.