The 3.275 MW pilot plant, which will be located on a former airstrip at at UQ's Gatton campus (about 90km west of Brisbane), will be Queensland's largest solar power installation.
Professor Paul Meredith, project director from UQ's Global Change Institute and the School of Maths and Physics, said the new facilities and associated research program are designed to support the early stage commissioning and operation of the main power plants in NSW.
“Components of our research will focus on energy storage, plant optimisation, power systems and the impact of renewable energy on the National Electricity Market,” he said. “We will be able to test new technology and concepts at a meaningful scale and our work will help build national capacity for research in solar power deployment."
Under the terms of the agreement, First Solar will install 34,000 of its thin-film cadmium telluride PV modules, and the electricity will start to flow before the end of 2014.
The project is being funded through a $40.7 million grant from the Queensland government.
The project is also part of an AGL Energy Ltd project, supported by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA).
The university's Property and Facilities Division will project manage the delivery of the plant and associated high voltage infrastructure, as well as a research building at Gatton and a data hub control room at the St Lucia Campus.
The division also will manage and operate the plant on completion.
The new research facility will augment the university's 1.22 MW photovoltaic array, which was completed at its main campus at St Lucia in Brisbane in 2011. That project remains Australia's largest rooftop solar installation.
The Gatton plant is the pilot for two much-larger solar farms that AGL Energy Limited and First Solar are building in western New South Wales: at Nyngan (102MW) and Broken Hill (53MW).
According to First Solar's Vice President of Business Development for Asia Pacific, Jack Curtis: “The Australian local solar industry is gaining momentum with the recent financial close of our two utility-scale projects in Nyngan and Broken Hill in NSW.
"The knowledge gained through the construction and operation of large-scale, grid-connected solar power stations will help solar energy play a greater role in meeting Australia's electricity needs. The research facility will provide the opportunities for technological advancement that will ensure we can maintain this momentum for future projects across the country,” he said.
Photo: University of Queensland Professor Paul Meredith.
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