Project Overview

The Manildra Solar Farm occupies 120 hectares of land approximately 1 km east of Manildra in New South Wales (NSW), Australia and provides significant economic and environmental benefits, in addition to creating direct and indirect jobs and developing skills in a growing industry, and supporting small businesses.

Approximately 466,000 First Solar thin film photovoltaic (PV) modules power the 48.5 megawatt (MW) project.  

The Manildra Solar Farm supports Australia in its efforts toward providing 23.5 per cent of its energy from renewable resources by 2020, while further establishing regional NSW as a leader in renewable energy.

 

Project Benefits

  • Lowest environmental impact of any PV technology
  • No water used for electricity generation
  • Significant economic and environmental benefits for regional NSW

 

Environmental Benefits

First Solar is committed to the communities in which it operates and will strive to minimise environmental impact while maximising clean energy output. When in operation, our systems generate electricity with no water use, no air emissions, and no waste production, with the smallest carbon footprint of any PV technology available.

 

Project Status 

June update:

In June, the Manildra Solar Farm achieved completion of the construction activities through the relocation of the overhead power line that traversed the north western sector of the site.  With construction complete, the focus has shifted to demobilization and cleanup, as the temporary project offices and balance of materials are removed from the site. The project continues to export power and is working through the commissioning and testing cycles with the network service provider.  The project Operational Environment Management Plan recently attained DPE approval. The plan outlines the environmental considerations as the project transitions from construction into operations..

 

 

Community Day

The Manildra Solar Farm Community Open Day was held on Saturday, 27 October 2018 from 10:00am - 2:00pm.

Together with the local community we celebrated the completion of the Manildra Solar Farm. The day included a bus tour of the solar farm, project managers on hand to answer questions, sausage sizzles and many more fun activities.

 

Community Fund

The project, through its Community Engagement Plan, is committed to reinvesting in the local community through the Manildra Solar Farm community fund, a managed development fund supporting community based initiatives, projects and events that target a range of community needs including environment, education, youth, social, culture, sport, recreation and economic development.

The first recipients of the Manildra Solar Farm Community Fund have been awarded. The next opportunity to apply will commence in June. The details including the application period will be published shortly. 

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Type:

Single-Axis Tracking

PPA:

Energy Australia

Owner:

New Energy Solar

Developer:

First Solar

EPC:

RCR O'Donnell Griffin Pty ltd

Number Of Modules:

466,000

Estimated Annual Energy Output:

120,000,000 kWh

Global Horizontal Irradiance:

1903 kWh/m2

Project Status:

Commissioning

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