Each solar park will be a 300 kilowatt (kW) facility and provide 150 households in each town with solar power – the equivalent of installing a 2 kW photovoltaic (PV) system on their roof. Each park requires in excess of 30,000 square metres of land, and will have sun tracking capabilities, and are expected to be completed in six months.
Origin Energy, who is responsible for the construction of the solar parks on behalf of the Central Victoria Solar City project, has selected its preferred subcontractors – Elecraft for the Bendigo project and Sharp for the Ballarat project.
Bendigo and Adelaide Bank are providing finance over a four year period to cover the costs of construction for both the Bendigo and Ballarat Solar Parks, while Powercor will connect the energy generated from the parks to its electricity distribution network.
Other components of the program include discounts on solar hot water systems and individual PV installations as well as household retrofits and energy efficiency audits.
Article continues below…The $42 million Central Victoria Solar City project is funded by the Australian Government through the Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, the Central Victoria Solar City Consortium and other supporting organisations.
Following the Perth Solar City announcement on 11 August 2008, the 2008 election in Western Australia resulted in a break in negotiations with the Perth Solar City. The Australian Government is continuing to work with the Perth Solar City consortium with the aim to launch the project in late 2009.
