ReWired Podcast: Episode 4

A quiet revolution in large scale solar is unfolding across the country. Discover how it is rewiring our electricity grid and transforming local communities.

Stay tuned for new episodes every week.

Visit the hallowed and humming home of Australia’s large scale solar industry

Join Site Manager, Brendan Wykes, on a journey around Nyngan Solar Farm.

Brendan’s a Nyngan local, he was raised in this sunny town. And he has been part of the big changes when, in 2013, AGL built one of the biggest solar farms in the Southern Hemisphere.

The Nyngan Solar Farm is 570 km north west of Sydney, New South Wales. You can see its glorious 600 acres (that’s 2.4 square kilometres) of 1.3 million black solar panels soaking up sun and generating power.

Brendan is noticing that people are noticing the farm, “There’s a lot of interest in it, lot of people, and when the get out here they go, ‘jeez! It’s a lot bigger than what I expected’. It surprises a lot of people.”

Nyngan Solar Farm could be considered the birth-place of Australia’s large scale solar industry. The development of this farm helped establish the supply chains and technical know-how helping the construction of new solar farms across the country.

Stand on Nyngan’s red cracked earth and stand under its big, blue sky. Climb onto the farm’s viewing platform and listen to the hum of electricity. But don’t stay still for too long, you need to be a moving target for those flies.

Now marvel at the amazing shrinking solar costs. Back in 2013, each dollar that ARENA invested returned less than a Watt of solar capacity. Four years on, every dollar that ARENA invests returns more than five Watts of solar capacity. That’s five times more bang for a solar buck.

Listen to our previous episodes to go on a journey around some of Australia’s best large-scale solar farms. Subscribe to the podcast on your favourite podcast app and leave a review.

But before you do any of that, come on our Nyngan adventure now…

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