The Greenough River Solar Farm in Geraldton, Western Australia, is currently the largest accredited solar photovoltaic power station in Australia. Commissioned in 2012, the solar farm was developed as a joint venture between Synergy and GE Energy Financial.
The solar farm consists of 150,000 solar photovoltaic panels that cover 50 hectares of land. The power station has an installed capacity of 10 megawatts, which is the first stage of a proposed 40 megawatt solar farm.
The electricity generated by the solar farm is purchased by the Water Corporation of Western Australia to meet the electricity requirements of the Southern Seawater Desalination Plant7, making it the first utility-scale solar farm in Australia. The construction of the power station has generated regional employment opportunities and contributed to the development of the local economy.
The solar farm was accredited as a renewable energy power station under the Renewable Energy Target, as it uses an ecologically sustainable energy source to generate electricity. Since its accreditation, the power station has validly created approximately 34,000 large-scale generation certificates for renewable electricity generation, valued at approximately $1.2 million.8