Gunnedah gets second solar farm put forward by Photon Energy

Photon Energy has put forward a $201m solar farm on a 692-hectare site Gunnedah’s Orange Grove Rd.

The 155-megawatt project would only use a small part of the site, with the rest remaining for agriculture. 

More than 470,000 panels would be installed over a nine to 12-month period, using local products where possible and employing up to 60 people, with up to six ongoing jobs.

In documents submitted to the NSW government, Photon Energy stated it would use “local labour and resources where possible”.

Photon business development manager Robert Ibrahim said the farm had a lifetime of 25 years, after which the technology would be either updated or removed, with the land returned to its “existing condition”.

“There is no use having a green sustainable energy source that ruins the land,” Mr Ibrahim said.

“The installation method we use means there is no concreting for the poles. The beauty of that is that it’s easier to restore the land.

“A big part of our business is trying to return the land as close as possible to when we started.”

Photon’s project follows the 27-megawatt solar farm proposed by Ironbark Energy, located at the old abattoir on Quia Rd. Ironbark says it hopes to have its development “running by the end of the year”.

Adam Blakester, who heads up local solar charity Farming the Sun, said while the Photon project was yet to be approved by the state government, it was another glowing endorsement for the region’s renewable capabilities.

He never anticipated solar to “move this quickly”, but advances in technology and reduced construction costs were seeing the industry jump ahead in leaps and bounds.

Renewable investment in the region was now in the ball park of $2 billion, Mr Blakester said.