Renewable energy company Infigen has received the green light to build first commercial solar power farm in New South Wales, after the approval by the State Government on Monday.

Together with the parternership with solar panel manufacturer Suntech, Infigen proposed $300 million project which will have a 100-megawatt capacity, or enough to power 20,000 homes equivalent to taking 30 000 cars off the roads each year in NSW.

The solar farm will cover 200 hectares at Nyngan, in the state’s west.

The solar electricity generated by the plant will be fed directly to the Nyngan substation.

Planning Minister Mr Tony Kelly said Nyngan Solar Farm that is built over 200 hectares, about two kilometers away from the Nyngan township, which is hot and dry part of the state is an ideal site. “This will help the NSW government plan aims to acquire 20 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable energy sources by 2020,” Kelly said.

Seventy blocks of solar panels installed in one to three feet above the ground and feed power directly to the network through a connection exists Nyngan substation in the immediate vicinity of the site. 

Another Australian renewable energy company, Carnegie Corporation, also announced it had entered into a joint venture with the Irish Government to design a demonstration wave energy plant.

Carnegie, also listed on the ASX, has already taken delivery of heavy equipment to start building its first commercial wave energy plant off the West Australian coast.

Country Labor MLC for Barwon, Christine Robertson, this large project will create many  jobs during construction  once the solar farm is operational. The Solar Flagships Program includes a $1.5 billion commitment from the Government to support the construction and demonstration of up to four large solar power plants in Australia.