Planning approval has been granted for a 10MW solar farm to be constructed near the Victorian town of Ouyen.
The Sunraysia Daily reports a planning permit for the $14.2 million project was issued by Mildura Rural City Council last week.
Located 110 kilometres from Mildura and 441 km north-west of Melbourne, Ouyen is the commercial and transport centre for the surrounding farming region. The establishment of a solar farm in the area is expected to bring many benefits to the local community.
On average, Ouyen receives solar irradiation levels of around 5.16 kilowatt hours per square metre daily, making it a very good candidate for large-scale solar electricity production.
Covering almost ten per cent of the State, the Mildura Rural City Council region is a huge area that is attracting a significant amount of interest for the establishment of solar farms.
“To show just how much interest there is in our region and its sunshine, there have been six solar planning permits issued through the council over the last twelve months,” states a report from Cr Jason Modica, Mildura’s Deputy Mayor, which is contained in Council meeting minutes (PDF) from March.
It seems the Deputy Mayor has been further inspired to see the region attract more renewables projects after attending the C4CE Community Energy Congress held in February. To better promote the region to the industry, Cr. Modica has proposed the creation of the Murray Darling Solar Institute.
“Our energy matters and it is a human right in a civil society so I hope we as a council and a municipality can begin to build a secure energy future here in Sunraysia,” he said.
The company behind the Ouyen solar project is Melbourne’s Future Energy. This appears to be the first solar project for the firm, which up until now has focused on wind power facilities.
The company was the developer behind the Hepburn Community Wind Park, Australia’s first community owned wind facility. Future Energy says it has secured development approvals for over 40 megawatts of wind generation since it began operations in 2004.
News item provided courtesy of Energy Matters Australia
