Australia’s largest solar project hits major milestone

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Almost 100,000 solar photovoltaic panels have been installed to date on Australia’s largest solar array under construction, the Moree Solar Farm (MSF).

Image credit: arena.gov.au
Image credit: arena.gov.au

According to the news release by ARENA, the farm, which stretches over 280 hectares in northern NSW, will use a single-axis horizontal tracking system that will allow 222,880 solar panels to follow the sun for maximum efficiency.

Upon completion, the MSF will generate 140,000 megawatt-hours per year – which is enough to power 15,000 homes and abate 95,000 tons of carbon pollution each year.

The $164 million project has been part-funded by ARENA with a $102 million grant, while the Clean Energy Finance Corporation has provided additional $47 million in debt financing.

Leading manufacturer JA Solar is responsible for supplying the high-performance polycrystalline panels for the farm, which is expected to be fully operational by early 2016.

“We firmly believe that the launch of MSF will serve as a foundation for potential opportunities to co-operate on large-scale solar projects in Australia in the future,” said the President and Chief Operating Officer of JA Solar, Xie Jian.