HYDRO Tasmanian has lodged a Development Application with the King Island Council to build a solar farm and the proposal is an expansion of the renewable energy system on King Island.
The hybrid power station, located at Grassy Road, King Island, is a fully automated, high penetration diesel renewable power system, capable of running 100% renewable generation (that is, all diesel prime movers shut down) for multi-day periods, should climatic conditions permit.
The Hydro Tasmania plant is located adjacent to their Huxley Hill wind farm. The generating plant feeds a common 11 kilovolt (kV) transmission system within the station. As part of the expansion of the system, it is proposed that a 1.5 MW solar farm is to be constructed on the site of the Huxley Hill wind farm at Nugara. The output from the solar farm will be integrated into the power station’s 11 kV line for distribution across the island. The proposed development site is a 4.9 ha footprint located at the Huxley Hill wind farm at South Road, Nugara is wholly owned by Hydro-electric Corporation (HT).
The site is accessed from South Road, and direct access to the project footprint is via existing gravel access roads throughout the site This development will incorporate a total of approximately 5,022 PV panels. Each proposed PV panel type will be approximately ground mounted 2.1m x 1m x 0.04m and will be mounted onto a steel or aluminum supporting structure with a ground clearance of 0.5m. The maximum height above the ground of each panel will be approximately 1.5m.
The panels and the supporting structure will be separated into rows, spaced to minimise shading panel to panel. The solar farm will connect to the existing transmission network and no transmission upgrade forms part of this proposal. Power generated from this facility will be transmitted to the local grid and used on the island.
The property is currently an operating five-turbine wind farm, and portions of the site including the parcel proposed for development is leased to a private entity for cattle grazing. The overall construction period is anticipated to be approximately five months. As part of the proposal, some minor vegetation clearance will be required, as well as minor cut-and-fill for leveling for the purposes of developing the site as a solar farm.
A spokesperson for Hydro Tasmania said Hydro Tasmania was building a solar farm on King Island to further reduce CO2 emissions and diesel consumption while also complementing wind generation. “Adding more solar to the system allows us to diversify our renewables generation portfolio, and we are aiming to install and commission the solar farm prior to Easter 2023. Specialist Electrical Engineer Simon Van Der Aa said it was part of an ongoing commitment to reduce emissions on King Island.
“This allows us to leverage off the work done in developing our high-penetration renewable system. “The solar farm is a 1.5MW solar installation and we are aiming to offsetting approximately 800 tonnes of CO2 and 300,000 litres of diesel per annum.”
To find our more around the King Island Renewable Energy Integration Project and to see the islands real-time energy demand and contribution download the app (free) on apple and android search hydro-kireip. The DA can be viewed on the King Island Council website.