A new one-megawatt solar farm is now online, sending power to the nearby Barwon Water Black Rock water reclamation plant.
The solar farm is the largest ground-mounted array in southern Victoria and will cut operating costs by more than $200,000 a year.
The project is Barwon Water’s first large-scale renewable energy endeavour and paves the way for its targets of 100 per cent renewable energy by 2025 and zero net emissions by 2030.
The 2,844 solar panels supply about 15 per cent of the electricity needs of the water reclamation facility, equivalent to that used by 300 homes. The emissions reduction equates to taking 450 cars off the road.
A second stage expansion of the solar farm has been approved to deliver an additional two megawatts capacity by 2020.
Barwon Water’s Strategy 2030 supports the delivery of the Victorian Government’s Water for Victoria plan which sets a new long-term direction for managing our precious water resources as the state deals with the impacts of climate change and a growing population.
