A proposed 290 megawatt solar farm near Wollar has been granted Development Consent subject to conditions.
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The state significant development was given conditional approval by the NSW Department of Planning on February 24.
In a report posted on the NSW Planning website, one of the community issues noted was the visual impact the farm would have.
While the Department considers the visual impact of the project on the surrounding residences and road users to be minimal, a condition was placed nonetheless that behoves the applicant to ensure 'off-site visual impacts of the development, including the potential for any glare or reflection are minimised and external lighting is minimised and complies with the relevant Australian Standards.'
It is predicted that the project would generate around 300 jobs during the peak construction phase, once the project is operational around five equivalent full time staff would be employed.
Set to be operational in late 2021, the solar farm will provide up to 290 megawatts of generating capacity, sufficient to supply over 500 GWh renewable electricity to the national electricity grid when it is fully operational. This would power around 104,926 average homes, and also eliminate approximately 515,564 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions.
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In their report the department says they are 'satisfied that there is sufficient accommodation in nearby towns, such as Mudgee and Gulgong.'
However a condition was placed on the project that requires the applicant to 'prepare an Accommodation and Employment Strategy for the project in consultation with Council, with consideration of the cumulative impacts associated with other State significant development projects in the area.'
"Now that the project has been approved, it's important to keep the local community updated about our progress. We very much appreciate the cooperation and support from all of these groups," Managing Director of Wollar Solar Farm, Bruce Howard said.
The expected life of the solar farm is 30 years, pending any further changes that could extend the life of the project.
Associated infrastructure would include a substation, battery storage and connection to an existing TransGrid Substation via nearby transmission line.
It's anticipated that it will supply energy used by about 104,000 homes and displace over 515,000 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent. The site chosen, located 7km south of Wollar, is former grazing land.
The more than 920,000 solar panels will cover slightly over half the 800 Ha site.
Construction is planned to start during 2020 with around an 18 to 24 month construction period.
