The Sun Metals Solar Farm is a
photovoltaic
Photovoltaics (PV) is the conversion of light into electricity using semiconducting materials that exhibit the photovoltaic effect, a phenomenon studied in physics, photochemistry, and electrochemistry. The photovoltaic effect is commercially us ...
solar power station near
Townsville in the Australian state of
Queensland. It supplies some of the electricity consumed by the nearby
Sun Metals (a subsidiary of
Korea Zinc
Korea Zinc Company, Ltd. () is a non-ferrous metal smelter headquartered in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the leading refined zinc-producing companies alongside Nyrstar, Hindustan Zinc, and Boliden.
Korea Zinc was founded by Choi Ki-ho and Ch ...
) zinc refinery as well as exporting to the
National Electricity Market. When the Sun Metals Solar Farm started exporting electricity to the grid in May 2018, it took over from
Clare Solar Farm
The Clare Solar Farm is a solar farm located 35 kilometres south-west of Ayr at Clare in North Queensland, Australia. The 125 megawatt DC power station is owned by Lighthouse Solar. Construction commenced in 2016 and was complete by May 2018. ...
as the largest capacity solar farm in
Queensland.
The project statutory approvals were supported by AECOM Australia Pty Ltd.
Construction was undertaken by
RCR Tomlinson.
The solar farm is connected to the refinery's existing 33/132 kV
substation and consists of over 1 million solar panels.
The photovoltaic cells are thin-film panels mounted on a fixed axis.
References
{{Energy in Queensland
Solar power stations in Queensland
Buildings and structures in Townsville