As announced on Thursday Australias largest fully operational photovoltaic facility has begun full-scale commercial operation.
French firm Neoen said in a statement that its Coleambally Solar Farm in New South Wales has 567,800 solar photovoltaic panels and would generate more than 390,000 MW hours of energy per year.
Neoen also said it is enough to power more than 65,000 houses in New South Wales. The Coleambally development is situated in the states Riverina region and is spread across 550-hectare of land.
It is backed by a 12-year power purchase agreement with an Energy Retailer named EnergyAustralia. Under the terms of the deal, EnergyAustralia will use only 70 percent of the facilitys output, with the rest being sold directly to market.
Coleambally Solar Farm is an example of the projects that will underpin a modern energy system in Australia, Frank Woitiez, Neoen Australias Managing Director, said in a statement.
Blessed with abundant sunshine, large-scale solar electricity is rapidly expanding in Australia, according to Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA). Over 2 million Australian houses have solar system installed on their roof top, ARENA adds.