A new solar farm is set to rise soon in Moura, Queensland following the development approval granted to ESCO Pacific in April 2018 by the Banana Shire Council. This $120 million project is expected to create up to 150 jobs during the construction phase.
Currently, ESCO Pacific is working closely with Powerlink towards a grid connection agreement. Once an agreement is reached, the project is ready to move to the next stage and commence construction.
According to Moura Solar Farm’s Project Manager Rhiannon Olle, Moara was chosen as the preferred location for the project based on a number of factors.
“ESCO Pacific chose the solar farm site due to its proximity to Powerlink’s Moura Substation, the large site are free of environmental constraints and the relatively high solar resource in the area,” Ms Olle said.
The new 110MW solar farm is expected to generate enough renewable energy to power up to 42,000 homes once it is up and running. In addition, two full-time as well as six part-time operational jobs will be supported.
“The project will result in investment in the region through employment (subcontractors, labour and equipment) and additional regional visitation resulting in flow on benefits for hotels, shops, restaurants and other local service providers.
“The project supports ongoing diversification of employment, services and the skilled labour pool,” Ms Olle said.
Moura Solar Farm is going to be constructed on a 203-hectare site which is currently utilised to graze cattle. The solar farm will comprise of up to 330,000 solar photovoltaic modules on ground-mounted frames with the capacity to slowly track the horizontal movement of the sun on a daily basis.
The energy generated from this utility scale solar farm is going to be fed into the National Electricity Market.
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Source: The Queensland Times; Construction Advisor; Central Telegraph; ESCO Pacific