NSW Powerplant Construction Gets Approval

A New South Wales (NSW) company has been awarded the largest solar project that will be constructed in the southern hemisphere. Energy company AGL has been tapped to received state and federal funding for the Nyngan solar project.

The site is situated in the central west area of NSW and is estimated to be worth $450 million. From this amount, about $170 million will be financed by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) from the federal government, while NSW will provide and invest about $65 million.

At 102 megawatt power, this plant is going to be the largest in this part of the world, and it is expected to become the source of power for at least 50,000 homes. The project is expected to be completed and fully functional by the middle of 2015.

Work on Nyngan is supposed to start by January of next year, which will create new jobs for at least 300 people.

NSW is also home to the Broken Hill Plant, a 53 megawatt power plant that is expected to be finished by November 2014. When this plant starts construction in July 2014, it will have around 150 people in its employ.

Solar energy, according to an AGL director, is a growing industry. “Solar PV (photovoltaic) in Australia has come a long way from being a small-scale industry in a relatively short time frame.”

The company is working in partnership with First Solar, a US energy firm, for its construction in Nyngan.