{"id":239932,"date":"2019-07-18T19:17:10","date_gmt":"2019-07-18T09:17:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/?p=239932"},"modified":"2021-05-31T16:52:05","modified_gmt":"2021-05-31T06:52:05","slug":"third-solar-farm-for-woolooga-area","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/southburnett.com.au\/news2\/2019\/07\/18\/third-solar-farm-for-woolooga-area\/","title":{"rendered":"Third Solar Farm For Woolooga Area"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Lightsource BP’s proposed Lower Wonga solar farm will have 180,000 solar panels that track the path of the sun
(Photo: Wikipedia)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

July 18, 2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

A subsidiary of global energy company BP has submitted a development application to Gympie Regional Council to build a solar farm at Lower Wonga.<\/p>\n

Lightsource BP – jointly owned by BP and Europe’s largest solar developer, Lightsource – has applied to build a 60 megawatt solar farm at the corner of Gympie-Woolooga and Tones roads, 25km north-west of Gympie.<\/p>\n

The project will occupy 160ha of a 180ha rural site and is expected to create up to 150 jobs during the 12-month construction period.<\/p>\n

It will then operate with five permanent staff and a\u00a0further five contracting jobs will also be available.<\/p>\n

Providing it receives approval, Lightsource BP plans to have the solar farm operational by 2022.<\/p>\n

When complete, the site will host 180,000 solar panels, an electricity substation, a project site office and maintenance workshop.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The panels would be connected by underground cables to onsite power inverters and conditioners, and the panels will track the sun during the day.<\/p>\n

The solar farm’s projected lifespan is 40 years.<\/p>\n

After this, it will be decommissioned and the site will be rehabilitated and returned to agricultural use.<\/p>\n

In its submission, the company proposes sealing the intersection of Gympie-Woolooga Road and the Wide Bay Highway for a short distance to minimise the chance of shifting gravel from Gympie-Woolooga Road on to the highway.<\/p>\n

It also proposes to widen Gympie-Woolooga Road to the Tones Road intersection to allow heavy vehicle transports to move components to and from the site.<\/p>\n

Lightsource BP will then undertake periodic “make good” maintenance grades to ensure the expanded section remains in good condition.<\/p>\n

The proposal is the third solar farm planned for the area in the past two years.<\/strong><\/p>\n

It follows plans announced by SolarQ in 2017 to build a $2 billion project on the southern side of the Wide Bay Highway, and a proposal by LGI Limited, announced in 2018, to build a solar farm on the northern side of the highway.<\/p>\n

Lightsource BP’s project would be built about 2km south of these.<\/p>\n

Gympie Regional Council is still assessing the proposal.<\/p>\n

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