August 28, 2017
A proposal to build an enormous solar farm at Woolooga is progressing well, and the project’s creators hope to be able to gain approval by October.
The SolarQ solar farm project would be built in an empty paddock next to Woolooga’s high-voltage sub-station on the Wide Bay Highway.
The solar farm could include up to 1.3 million solar panels, as well as a battery storage facility which will put power into the grid at night or when it’s not sunny.
The initial output of the farm has been put forward as 350MW, which is equivalent in size to one unit at Tarong Power Station, but not in capacity.
SolarQ managing director Scott Armstrong, a former technician at Tarong, explained that while a coal-fired generating unit could run at 100 per cent capacity, solar farms typically have a 26-30 per cent output.
Output would also depend on whether fixed or tracking panels were installed.
However, SolarQ aims to eventually more than double capacity at the site to 800MW.
In April this year the company lodged a development application with Gympie Regional Council for the $2 billion-plus project, and the period for public objections has now closed.
Mr Armstrong told southburnett.com.au on Monday that all being well, he hoped the project would receive a go-ahead within the next few months.
He said SolarQ had already consulted with all relevant State Government departments, and had also briefed Member for Nanango Deb Frecklington on their plans.
He said he was surprised at the high level of positive support the project had received from the general community, which was something he had not previously seen in his career.
“It doesn’t matter whether you’re putting up a transmission line or a tower on a coal-fired power station, there’s always objections,” he said.
“But in this case, we’ve actually had people step forward and ask how they can help, and that’s really great.”
Mr Armstrong said he thought this was probably because most of the community was now very comfortable with solar and realised it was a safe, non-polluting source of power.
He thought another advantage of the project was that unlike a coal mine or a power station, any problems that might arise could be easily addressed.
“To avoid visual pollution on the landscape, we want to put vegetation barriers around the solar farm which would shield it from view,” he said.
“And if there are noise problems, we can always move the inverters to another location so people aren’t affected. And so on.
“Solar is very gentle on the landscape compared to other forms of power generation, and that’s another big advantage.”
The project, if approved, is expected to create up to 450 full-time jobs during its 18-month construction phase, and six to eight full-time jobs afterwards.
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