Newcastle City Council is embarking upon their largest solar panel farm project yet, with construction set to begin in June.
The project will produce enough energy to run the equivalent of 1,300 households and will save the $9,000,000 over it's projected 30-year lifetime.
The international construction company Lendlease will build the farm between Summerhill's main entry road and the construction waste site. It will house 14,500 solar panels and will cover an area of around five football fields after it's completion in two years (estimate).
The 8 million dollar project is largely funded by the Clean Energy Finance Corporation which is contributing $6,500,000 through a loan with the council paying the remaining $1,500,000 directly. It is estimated that the loan to the CEFC will be paid off within seven years.
The project is directed at producing clean energy and cutting Newcastle Council's $4,000,000 electricity bill last year and reducing it by 30% by 2020.
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| Source: RenewEconomy.com.au |
