Kidston Solar Farm
- $8.85m Funded by ARENA
- $130.65m Total project cost
Summary
The Kidston Solar Farm Project will develop a 50MW (AC) solar photovoltaic (PV) farm.
How the project works
The Kidston Solar Farm project by Genex Power is one of 12 large-scale solar PV projects supported by ARENA to increase the nation’s experience in planning and building large scale solar PV and making it more competitive by increasing confidence and building supply chains. Once complete, the 12 projects are expected to triple the amount of electricity produced from big solar in Australia and unlock almost $1 billion of commercial investment in the technology.
Area of innovation
At the time of funding, the large-scale solar PV industry in Australia was in its infancy. The 12 new large- scale projects will change this by adding almost 500MW of new generation, powering 150,000 average Australian homes.
Learn more
Reports: The Generator Operations Series
In 2016, when the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) launched the $100 million Large-scale Solar funding round, renewable energy constituted a very small fraction of the energy mix.
Image: Kidston Solar Farm
Kidston Solar Farm at dusk.
Image: Kidston Solar Farm
Kidston Solar Farm panels being installed.
Media Release: Big solar with Pumped-Hydro Potential Clears Key Milestone
The fifth project has reached financial close through ARENA’s groundbreaking large-scale solar competitive round, which is driving down costs, and boosting investment.
Benefit
By supporting Kidston Solar Farm and other large-scale solar projects, ARENA is making the benefits of solar available to more Australian energy consumers. It is anticipated that the Project will generate enough energy to power some 15,000 average Australian homes.
The cost trajectory of large-scale solar PV has seen the technology become competitive without additional support. The competitive round was critical in supporting this outcome by helping to close the cost gap that existed between large-scale solar PV and other commercially competitive forms of power generation, including wind energy.
ARENA will be sharing knowledge from the Large Scale Solar competitive round projects on a range of topics, from construction techniques, solar forecasting and capital costs, to Operations and Maintenance (O&M) practices and grid impacts.
Read more
ARENAWIRE Blogs
Booming renewables breaking records
Australia’s renewable energy industry is coming of age, with record growth in 2017 set to be eclipsed by an unprecedented level of activity in the years ahead.
Old mine given new lease of life as a power plant
ARENA has thrown its weight behind a plan to turn a disused mine in South Australia into a pumped hydro plant, unlocking new value from legacy mining operations for the benefit of future generations.
Renewable energy from abandoned mine site? That's gold
In the early years of the 20th century, Kidston was a classic Australian gold-rush town. Located 280 kilometres from Townsville, its population boomed from zero to more than 1000 people.
