The Normanton Solar Farm Project

The Normanton Solar Farm is based at Lilyvale, 5 km south of Normanton in Queensland’s Gulf Savannah region

The Normanton Solar Farm partners are in the process of building and operating a 5MW Solar Photovoltaic (PV) power station at Normanton. The Normanton Solar Farm, with support from its principal partners Scouller Energy (SE), and Canadian Solar Inc, will utilise proven solar technology and efficient construction practices, while also delivering seamless integration into Ergon Energy’s Electricity grid.

Most importantly, this project will demonstrate to key stakeholders such as State Governments and energy distributors, that there are meaningful technical and financial benefits of positioning distributed generation on an appropriate, moderate scale at the far end of the sub transmission (66kV) network. Successful application of this concept has the potential to catalyse a new wave of renewable energy investment in other fringe-of-grid locations, and will also provide valuable learnings for solar applications in remote, tropical locations.

 

 

Key Features

• The project is sized to meet the local demand of the Carpentaria Shire community and will demonstrate the benefits of providing localised solar power generation to reduce network losses in “Fringe of Grid” locations;
• The project is located in the Gulf region of Northern Australia in an area with one of the best solar energy resources in Australia. The project will be the first large scale solar PV facility at fringe of grid in North West Queensland;
• The project is expected to generate valuable data and knowledge that has the potential to catalyse a wave of new renewable energy investment in fringe-of-grid applications across Australia;

The project site for the Normanton Solar Farm is approximately 10 hectares, located around 5km south of Normanton township. The Solar Farm has a capacity of 5MW (DC)/4.5MW(AC), and will include around 16,000 x 310Watt solar modules supplied by Canadian Solar.  The Solar modules will be mounted on fixed-tilt arrays, optimised for the Normanton latitude of around 17degrees. Normanton typically receives a minimum of 6 hours of full sunshine each day, right through the year, allowing the solar farm to generate in excess of 8,680 MWh per year.  The Normanton Solar Farm will connect directly to the Ergon Energy Normanton Substation, located close to the solar farm site, via a dedicated 22kV feeder.

Key stakeholders identified include:

• The local community (residents and businesses);
• Land owners and project neighbours;
• The local Council – Carpentaria Shire;
• Chamber of Commerce, Gulf Savannah Development;
• Local Indigenous representatives;
• QLD State Department of Planning;

• QLD State Department of Environment (DSE);
• QLD State Department of Energy & Water Supply (DEWS);
• The Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA);
• Ergon Energy (the local electricity distributor);
• Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA)