Solar farm project proposed for Rubicon

RESIDENTS close to the corner of Rubicon Road and Taggerty-Thornton Road in Rubicon have recently received a letter from Samsung C&T SREA regarding a proposed solar farm. SREA is a wholly owned company of Samsung C&T Corporation in Korea.

According to the map, the solar farm is proposed for the area immediately to the right when turning onto Rubicon Road, along with a small area to the left.

The letter states, “SREA understands the importance of facilitating local participation and community input to understand community issues and achieve positive local and regional community outcomes. To support community awareness of the project and provide opportunities for input, SREA will distribute broader public information over coming weeks.”

According to the text, the project would include the installation, operation and maintenance and decommissioning/re-powering of a solar photovoltaics (PV) and Battery Energy Storage System (BESS).

The capacity is estimated to be 100MW for the solar PV and 200MW/800MHh for the BESS. The full footprint, layout and development details are yet to be determined, and a competitive tender procurement process will be conducted.

The solar arrays are expected to be mounted on single-axis trackers.

The infrastructure is expected to include a substation, transformers and inverters to connect it to the grid, along with BESS compound infrastructure including a modular battery enclosure, power conversion systems and cabling. There will also be security fencing put in place.

SREA estimates that the solar farm will have a 30 year life span.

When a local resident posted their letter to the community Facebook page, some commenters were in support, saying that the shire needs to do their bit for sustainable…

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