Windorah - Queensland's first solar farm
Queensland's first 150 kilowatt solar farm was officially opened at the remote south-west Queensland town of Windorah in October 2009. The solar farm aims to reduce the town's reliance on diesel fuel, and therefore cut greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 300 tonnes a year.
Do the bright thing - help build a virtual solar power station for Queensland
Town by town, we're working together to build a virtual solar power station for Queensland. We've already doubled our use of solar energy to 500 megawatts in less than two years - that's more than three years ahead of schedule. You can do the bright thing too by installing a solar hot water system or solar PV system on your home.
How does the solar farm work?
The $4.5 million solar farm generates electricity using five giant mirrored dishes to capture sunlight and convert the sun's free energy to electricity. The dishes, which each measure approximately 14 metres in diameter, follow the sun as it tracks across the sky from sunrise to sunset.
Each dish contains 112 mirrors, each measuring 1100mm x 1100mm. The mirrors concentrate the sun up to 500 times onto a panel of photovoltaic cells which convert the sun's energy into electricity and feed it into the town's electricity network.
Different combinations of dishes are used at different times, with some being parked and not used while others are generating power. This all depends on the energy needs of the town's 100 residents.
An animation showing how the technology works can be found by following this link:
http://www.energyfutures.qld.gov.au/renewables/how-solar-used.htm
Australian technology
The Windorah Solar Farm uses technology developed in Australia. This project is also the first time Ergon Energy has used solar farm power generation combined with a diesel power station.
Reducing the need for diesel generators
The Windorah Solar Farm does the bright thing, using solar energy to reduce the town's use of diesel-powered generators. While the solar farm is producing electricity during the day, the town's diesel generators operate at a lower level. At night or when there is too much cloud cover, the diesel generators seamlessly kick back in to meet the town's energy needs.
How much electricity does it produce?
It is estimated that the solar farm will produce 300 000 kilowatt hours of electricity a year, reducing the town's diesel consumption by more than 100 000 litres annually. This is expected to reduce the town's greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 300 tonnes a year.
How is it funded?
Queensland Government Owned Corporation, Ergon Energy has invested more than $3.5 million towards construction of the solar farm, with $1 million contributed by the Australian Government through its Renewable Remote Power Generation Program.
More information
Think a solar farm is a bright idea?
- Discover more about the Windorah Solar Farm
- Find out about installing solar panels on your home
- Download a printable version of this information
Contact Us
You can contact us on our hotline, 13 GET SOLAR or 13 438 76527.
Last updated 12 October 2011
Other languages