Solar manufacturer and developer Risen Energy has formally signalled its intention to construct a small solar farm in North Wagga, New South Wales.
Risen Energy Australia’s proposed small utility-scale project development site is at 59 Hillary Street; around 3.5 kilometres from Wagga Wagga’s city centre. The total project area is approximately 34.6 hectares, with a development footprint of around 17 hectares that will host up to 5MW of solar.
Risen Energy Australia intends commencing construction around the middle of next year and it will take 10 to 12 months to complete. The company says the construction phase will support approximately 30 direct jobs, and one full time equivalent position during its operational life of 30 years.
Other than that, there’s not much more information published at this point – just a brief mention here on Friday and the Statement of Environmental Effects (SEE) form here from the company’s development application.
Should this project go ahead, it will be Risen Energy Australia’s smallest solar farm in this country to date. Its operational utility-scale projects in Australia are:
- Merredin Solar Farm: ~260km east of Perth. The 100MW facility has an expected output of 274GWh of electricity annually.
- Yarranlea Solar Farm: ~ 50km west of Toowoomba, 103MW capacity.
The company also supplied Risen Energy solar panels for the 89MW Clermont Solar Farm in Queensland, which connected to the grid back in 2019.
As well as supplying/owning solar farms here and overseas, China-headquartered Risen Energy also manufactures panels for the commercial and residential markets. The company was founded in 1986 and established a presence in Australia in 2008.
Risen Energy Australia has set a goal of achieving a 2GW pipeline of large-scale projects in this country. Globally, the parent company has 1GW of assets and an annual module production capacity of 14.1GW.
Utility Scale Solar Farms In Wagga
The North Wagga Wagga project won’t be the largest PV facility in the Wagga Wagga City Council local government area – not by a long shot. The largest operating solar farm in the region is Spark Renewables’ 120 MWDC/100 MWAC Bomen Solar Farm, which is situated 10 kilometres north-east of the city. The facility became operational in Q2 2020.
Another large clean power station being constructed in the region is Metka EGN’s (controversial) Wagga Wagga Solar Farm, located six kilometres from the CBD. Additionally, another facility is to be constructed adjacent to it (Wagga 2), which will be a 23MW project.
Other Solar Power In Wagga’s LGA
The Australian Photovoltaic Institute (APVI) estimates the number of <10kW capacity solar installations to date in the local government area at 6,387 as at the end of March this year; along with 539 installations in the 10-100kW range – plus several above 100kW.
Related: Solar installers in Wagga Wagga | Wagga solar energy information
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