PLEA Network

8 September 2015, ARENA, Three months on and Nyngan is flying. The largest solar power plant in Australia and the Southern Hemisphere in Nyngan, NSW, is fully operational and has generated 60,000 MWh of renewable energy to date, according to the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Since achieving full generation in June 2015, the plant has been sending 102 MW of solar-generated electricity into the National Electricity Market. ARENA CEO Ivor Frischknecht said the successful beginning of Nyngan’s operations was a significant milestone in the development of Australia’s large-scale solar sector. “AGL’s Solar Project at Nyngan and Broken Hill represents a big investment by the company and also by ARENA,” Mr Frischknecht said. “It’s already achieving one of ARENA’s key aims of increasing the amount of renewable energy in Australia. “And the knowledge gained from its successful launch and ongoing operations will lead to further improvements in technology and reductions in costs for the sector.” The solar plant, a partnership between AGL Energy Limited (AGL) and First Solar, is expected to produce around 230,000 MWh of electricity annually which is sufficient to meet the needs of approximately 33,000 NSW homes. Read More here