The Goulburn River Solar Project is a 585MWdc solar farm being developed in New South Wales (NSW) Australia. The project may also feature a Battery Energy Storage (BESS) facility.
Solar power project developer Lightsource BP is developing the solar farm via its wholly owned subsidiary and special purpose vehicle Goulburn River Fund.
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The development of the renewable project will involve an investment of around A$880m ($548m).
Construction works commenced in December 2024 and it is expected to take approximately 27 months. Up to 350 jobs will be created during this phase.
Goulburn River Solar Project is expected to commence production by the end of 2026.
Once operational, the project will power 225,000 Australian homes and remove 910,000 tonnes of carbon emissions from the atmosphere annually. During this phase, the project will employ around ten people directly.
Goulburn River Solar Farm Background
In December 2021, Lightsource BP submitted a scoping report and sought Environmental Assessment Requirements for Goulburn River Solar Project.
The NSW Department of Planning, Industry and Environment Secretary’s Environmental Assessment Requirements were issued in February 2022 to support the development of the Environmental Impact Assessment.
This was followed by a public exhibition of the project’s Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) in 2023.
In December 2023, Lightsource signed a Long-Term Energy Service Agreement (LTESA) with the NSW Government to provide long-duration energy storage services. Under the agreement, a BESS will be installed at a later stage for hybridisation.
The Government of NSW granted development consent to the project in August 2024 including the BESS with up to 1,160MWh in capacity. The Federal Government green lighted the 450MW solar farm, the battery storage system and local road upgrades in October 2024.
Goulburn River Solar Project Location
Goulburn River Solar Farm at a site between Wollar and Merriwa villages, in New South Wales. The site is around 28km southwest of Merriwa in the Upper Hunter Local Government area.
The project area will cover approximately 1,996.5 hectares (ha) area, with development footprint including approximately 792.19ha and 8.1km of road repairs and upgrades.
There will be three access points along the western boundary of the Project Area with one serving as permanent site access and the remaining two as emergencies.
Goulburn River Solar Project Details
Goulburn River solar farm will comprise approximately one million bifacial solar panels placed on ground- mounted single axis tracking structure.
Subject to tracker configuration adjustments, the solar panels will be installed in rows maximum 5m apart to maximise the utilisation of solar resources.
The modules will be approximately 3.1m high at full tilt, although in some areas in may reach up to 4m due to uneven topography.
The panels, up to 2.4m tall by 1.3m wide, will feature solar glass with anti-reflective surface technology.
They will track the sun and move throughout the day from east to west. The tracking system is estimated to have a tracking range of 120 degrees, or up to 60 degrees from the horizontal position.
The solar arrays would connect to the onsite substation via underground cable network. The power generated from the solar farm would be transported to the inverters via these cables.
The project is estimated to require approximately 140 inverters in two blocks. The inverters would convert Direct Current (DC) to Alternating Current (AC) before transporting it to the grid.
Other infrastructure at site will include power transformers, medium voltage switchgear, communication, and related equipment.
The onsite substation will be located in the southeastern corner of the project. It will house several electrical equipment including a lightning rod up to 18m in height and a 500kV transformer. Approximately 4ha area would be covered by the substation.
The substation will be connected to an existing 500kV transmission line using overhead lines. The transmission line is operated by Transgrid, the operator of the NSW transmission network.
A 65m long transmission tower would also be built adjacent to the transmission line.
BESS Facility Details
There are three BESS options under consideration– a centralised BESS of up to 450MWp/900MWh capacity, a decentralised BESS with a capacity up to 580MWp/1,160MWh, or a combination of both with 1,030MWp/2,060MWh capacity.
The centralised BESS would include a lithium phosphate iron battery system. The system will be housed in outdoor containers and grouped in one central location. The BESS would be located in the southeastern part of the project.
The decentralised system, if selected, would comprise 560 individual battery containers with 6.1m height, DC-DC converters, and related facilities adjacent to the inverter stations.
The battery system will operate for two hours.
Contractors Involved
In December 2024, DT Infrastructure, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gamuda Berhad, won the Engineering, Procurement, and Construction (EPC) contract for the Goulburn River Solar farm. The contract values A$625m.
The scope of works includes civil, structural, and electrical infrastructure development for the solar farm. The contract has a duration of two years.
The Economic Impact Assessment (EIA) for the project was prepared by Ethos Urban, an Australian consulting firm.
Umwelt Australia, an environmental and social consultant, prepared the Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the project.
