| Image Alt: | Aerial view of solar farm |
Kidston Solar Project is a photovoltaic solar power station built on top of the former Kidston Gold Mine utilising the tailings storage facility in northern Queensland, Australia. The project consists of two solar farms, KS1 and KS2. The Kidston Solar Project is the first of four projects that comprise the Kidston Clean Energy Hub also occupying this area. A 250 megawatt (MW) hydro-pumped storage power generation project and a 150 MW wind farm make up the third and forth components.[1] The site is located close to an existing substation and transmission line.[1]
The Kidston Solar Project generates up to 145 Gigawatt hours of renewable electricity per year.[2] In total, there are 540,000 panels that makes up the project, manufactured by company First Solar Inc on a single axis tracking system. The photovoltaic panels are mounted on the tracking system which shifts the angle of the panels to follow the sun.[3]
Financial close was reached in February 2017 for KS1, with first energisation occurring in November 2017. It is now fully commissioned and operational, connected to the existing 132 kV transmission line powered by Ergon Energy and generating electricity into the NEM.
Construction was fully funded at $115M with construction activities for the project built on-time and on-budget via the project's EPC contractor, UGL. Financing was underpinned by the 20-year Revenue Support Deed with the Queensland Government for 100% of the energy generated from the Project, in addition to a $8.9M funding grant provided by the Australian Renewable Energy Agency.
In April 2022, Kidston Solar Project was rated as the best-performing solar farm in Australia, with a capacity factor of 26.4%.[4]