Australian Gas Light (AGL) has successfully commissioned its 102-MW Nyngan Solar Plant in Australia — currently the largest in the country. The arrays of the plant, largely supplied by First Solar, were connected to the grid and final testing has started.
Tests are to continue throughout this month and the plant will become fully operational in July.
Besides Nyngan Solar Plant, AGL has in its portfolio another large-scale solar plant, Broken Hill, which has capacity of 53 megawatts.
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The Nyngan project has received the go ahead to feed its entire output into the grid at full capacity amid the uncertainties in Australia over the future of utility-scale projects.
Ivor Frischknecht, the CEO of Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA), which financed the Nyngan project, said: “This new Australian record sends a strong signal to the energy industry that utility-scale solar PV plants can be constructed on time and on budget.”
He added the project will help instill market confidence in large scale photovoltaic projects.
Australia has vast expanses that are not serviceable by conventional grids. In such circumstances solar power plants can help the outback meet its power needs.
In many cases the rural expanses depend on diesel generated power, which is expensive and unsustainable. In recent times, Australia has been witnessing growing demand for sustainable energy solutions such as photovoltaic projects combined with storage technology which can meet electricity needs of off-grid communities by efficiently storing and utilizing energy generated by solar arrays.
These have been found to deliver both cost savings and enhanced reliability, PV Magazine has reported.
Ajith Kumar S