Green light for solar farm

An ambitious plan for a solar energy farm at Walkaway has been approved by a Mid West development authority with renewed calls for 330kV powerlines from Geraldton to Perth to make the venture economically viable.

The proposed Walkaway 2 Solar Farm would include about 170,000 solar panels and additional infrastructure constructed on a Burma Road property adjoining the established wind farms in the area.

It was approved last month by the Mid West-Wheatbelt Joint Development Assessment Panel which oversees infrastructure proposals valued at more than $10 million.

David Griffin from RPV Developments, the proponent of the farm, could not commit to a timeline, but said he hoped construction would begin within two years.

Mr Griffin said the region was poised to become a renewable energy hotspot. “Once we have this project built, combined with the Alinta and Mumbida Wind Farms as well as the Greenough Solar Farm, it will be a pretty impressive renewable energy centre,” he said.

Once completed, the solar farm and the Walkaway 2 Wind Farm will be capable of generating up to 300,000MW hours per year with both fixed and tilt array options still being assessed by the proponent.

City of Greater Geraldton Mayor Shane Van Styn welcomed the announcement but said the City would greatly benefit from an upgrade to the Geraldton to Perth powerlines so excess energy could be exported.

“As the world moves towards a renewable energy future, Geraldton as a city can be well placed to not only provide the resources that supply that energy stream, but also the jobs and technology that run them behind the scenes,” he said.

“On a sunny, windy day we actually produce more power than we consume from renewables but to make that economically viable we need that to be exported, meaning it will need to be sent through a 330kV line.

“There is significant investment wanting to come to the Mid West and if we can work with the State to overcome infrastructure challenges we can grow Geraldton in the future to become a significant second city in WA.”

Stage 2 plans for a 330kV Perth to Geraldton line have been shelved numerous times.

Geraldton MLA Ian Blayney confirmed the State Government was not looking at an upgrade “anytime soon” amid turbulent market conditions.

“The power market is in a real state of flux at the moment because around the corner is things like the Tesla battery and other equivalent energy storage technologies,” he said.

“Stage 1 of the 330kV line (Neerabup to Three Springs) was the biggest investment by Western Power for 20 years.

“The Government has to make a case to the Economic Regulation Authority to build Stage 2, which wouldn’t be possible at the moment because demand is actually falling.”