Proposed Hunter Valley Solar Farm scaled down following community input
The project involves the development of a large-scale solar farm, which includes the construction, operation, and eventual decommissioning of the facility.
The Environmental Impact Statement for the Maison Dieu Solar Farm project is on exhibition on the NSW Planning Portal, after reducing its capacity from 150 MW to 60 MW after incorporating community feedback. The solar farm is set to be located approximately 10 kilometres north-west of Singleton within the Hunter-Central Coast Renewable Energy Zone (REZ).
Maison Dieu Solar Farm will be constructed and operated by RATCH Australia, which also recently acquired the Marulan Solar Farm from Terrain Solar. Terrain Solar’s development was handed over to RATCH for operation earlier this year, before AGL Energy finalised an agreement to acquire Terrain Solar, along with BESS developer Firm Power, for approximately $250 million in August.
With an integrated Battery Energy Storage System (BESS), the solar farm will also include a high-voltage substation and a connection to the national electricity grid via Ausgrid's existing substation. The farm's capacity was originally planned to be 150 MW but has been reduced to 60 MW AC, generated from around 110,000 solar panels, following consultations with the community and stakeholders, as well as environmental and social impact assessments. The BESS will have a storage capacity of 40 MW / 80 MWh, providing stability to the grid by dispatching stored energy when demand is high.
The farm will be developed across 203 hectares of land, traditionally used for agriculture, with an actual disturbance area of 90 hectares. The total investment is estimated at $127 million, and up to 150 full-time jobs will be created during the 18-month construction phase. Once operational, the farm will require five full-time employees and is expected to operate for 30 years. The solar farm will produce enough electricity to power approximately 19,000 homes in NSW.
During construction, the project aims to provide training and employment opportunities, with a focus on recruiting workers from the local area. Engagement with the community to discuss these opportunities will be ongoing as the planning process continues.
The solar farm is part of a broader effort to support NSW's decarbonisation targets under the state's Electricity Infrastructure Roadmap. By contributing renewable energy and storage capacity, the Maison Dieu project will help replace fossil fuel generators as they are phased out of the market.
