Limondale Solar Farm | RWE in Australia

Acknowledgement of Country

RWE Renewables Australia respectfully acknowledges the Traditional Owners of the lands where the Limondale Solar Farm operates, and pay our respect to their Elders, past, present and emerging.

Project information

The project

Facts & figures

Community Benefit Fund

Reports and assessments

News and events

I want to...

Apply for community funding

View live production data

Contact project team

The Project

The Limondale Solar Farm is RWE’s first Australian project. The large-scale photovoltaic plant is located near Balranald, in New South Wales. It has about 872,000 solar panels on 770 hectares, and an installed capacity of 249 MWac. It is one of Australia’s largest solar farms, generating enough electricity to power about 105,000 homes per year; the equivalent of the Balranald Shire more than 97 times over.

This generation is helping New South Wales meet the renewable energy targets established under the Government’s Renewable Energy Action Plan.

The project has 7 full-time employees and an independently-administered Community Benefit Fund, which contributes $40,000 annually to community events, organisations and social development.

Construction of the project began in 2018, and full commercial operation started in 2021. RWE is also building Australia’s first eight-hour battery at the project site, which is expected to be operational at the end of 2025.

Project status: Operating

Project location

Click on the image to zoom

Facts and figures

00 kilometres

south of Balranald, west of the Yanga Way-Balranald Road intersection

About 00

photovoltaic panels

00 MWac

Installed capacity

Full commercial operation

$ 00 p.a.

Limondale Solar Farm Community Benefit Fund

$ 00

distributed to date

Live production data

You can view the output of the Limondale Solar Farm here. RWE publishes the power generation data at 15-minute intervals one hour after generation.

Community Benefit Fund

In line with our development approach, community philosophy and industry best practice, RWE has established an annual Community Benefit Fund of $40,000, which became operational in 2022.

The fund is independently administered by Balranald Inc, a not-for-profit community development organisation established in 2007 by a group of volunteers. The group works in partnership with Balranald Shire Council, government agencies, and other community stakeholders on projects that benefit the community.

The fund opens for applications in February every year, for about six weeks. Contact Balranald Inc on 0408 375 529 or balranaldinc033@gmail.com for more information or an application form.

To date $120,000 has been allocated, including:

2024

$10,000	Balranald Pony Club
$10,000	Homebush Rodeo
$5,000	Balranald Continuing Education Fund
$5,000	Balranald Dolly Parton Imagination Library
$5,000	Balranald Arts and Crafts
$5,000	Balranald Anglican Church

2023

$26,704	Southern Cross Plane Event
$5,000	Country Education Foundation p.a. for three years
$5,000	Balranald RSL Sub-branch
$3,519	Balranald Early Learning Centre
$2,000	Little Bunyips Playgroup

2022

$13,825.35	Balranald Motorcycle Club
$9,680	Talented Children Program (Art gallery)
$6,273	Balranald Field and Game
$5,000	St Joseph's School Annual Christmas Fete
$3,000	New Year’s Eve event

Reports and assessments

Development and operation of the Limondale Solar Farm requires a variety of assessments, plans and strategies, which may be updated if required. You can read them below.

RWE is required to develop an annual operational compliance report as part of the conditions of the solar farm’s planning approval. The reports to date can be found below.

News and events

2021 project updates
November 2021

RWE officially launches Limondale Solar Farm Community Benefit Fund. The fund will provide $40,000 per year to good causes within the Balranald Shire. Read more.

HP3 testing due to commence and expected to be completed by the end of 2021.

September 2021

100 out of 100 inverters generating (220MW).

Limondale Solar Farm achieved its maximum output and all inverters are connected and generating energy.

July 2021

66 out of 100 inverters generating (145MW).

1 small test remaining for HP2 testing. Report and results being compiled by consultant.

New metering compliance system is now operational.

April 2021

Tracker commissioning at Limondale 1 has been completed and all trackers are capable to track to the full range of 55 degrees.

Limondale 1 continues through its grid connection tests and is released to export up to 115MW (50% of its capacity).

January 2021

Tracker commissioning continues.

75% of the 57 blocks are now tracking to the full tracking range of 55 degrees.

Limondale 1 continues its grid connection tests.
2020 project updates
Take a look at construction of the Limondale Solar Farm

View our construction videos here.

View images of the solar farm here.
21 December 2020: All 876,000 modules are now installed and tested

Installation of a final shipment of a few hundred modules marks the end of the physical construction works.

Limondale 1 is adapting to changing conditions in the grid network.

24 November 2020: Limondale 1 ramps up to 75MW – approx. one third of its full capacity

Limondale 1 is making good progress in its grid connection tests.

Commissioning of the Limondale 1 trackers has continued with remote assistance from the tracker supplier.

60% of the 57 blocks are now tracking to the full tracking range of 55 degrees.

October 2020: Limondale 1 slowly increases output

Limondale 1 has now connected 17 of its 100 inverters to the grid – equivalent to a capacity of 37MW.

Grid connection tests continue.

21 September 2020: Construction works are complete and the main contractor has demobilised from site

Module installation and electrical testing of Limondale 1’s final block has been completed.

Commissioning of the tracker system continues.

Interim Operation and Maintenance activities are now being carried out.

20 August 2020: Construction of Limondale 1’s final block has been completed

Commissioning of the harmonic filters (part of the grid connection equipment) at Limondale 1 was also completed.

Commissioning of the tracker system is ongoing.

Limondale 1 continues through its detailed grid connection and commissioning tests.

30 July 2020: Limondale 1 has started its detailed grid connection and commissioning tests

Final tracker component deliveries have arrived on site.

Construction of the final block of Limondale 1 will commence soon.

30 June 2020: Limondale 1 achieves market registration

Limondale 1 is now able to start a series of detailed grid connection and commissioning tests.

Final component deliveries are expected for July.

Operation and Maintenance activities are increasing throughout the site.

28 May 2020: 56 out of 57 blocks of PV panels are complete

Construction works are now paused until final component deliveries will be received.

Commissioning works at Limondale 1, the larger part of the site, continue.

Harmonic filters (part of the grid connection equipment) have been installed at Limondale 1.

27 March 2020: Limondale 2 achieves full output of 29MWp

Grid tests of Limondale 2, the smaller first part of the site, are progressing well and the site is now allowed to export electricity to the grid at its full capacity.

Over 818,000 of the 876,000 PV panels are now installed.

Less than 1,000 piles of the total 58,000 remain to be installed.

27 February 2020: 80% of PV panels installed

PV panels have been installed at recent rates of approx. 30,000 per week, and installation of the trackers also continues to progress well.

Almost all construction components have now been delivered to site.

Grid connection and commissioning tests of Limondale 2, the smaller first part of the site, continue and its electricity export to the grid is slowly being increased.

16 January 2020: Construction works off to a flying start after Christmas break

A record number of 47,000 PV panels were installed in just one week, taking the total to 490,000 or 56% of the 876,000 panels installed.

49,000 of the 58,000 piles are now in the ground.

Limondale 2, the smaller first part of the site, has started detailed grid connection and commissioning tests.
2019 project updates
20 December 2019: First electricity exported

The substation of the bigger second part of the site (Limondale 1) has successfully been energised and the first electricity generated.

Limondale 1 will now be sequentially commissioned over the next months, as construction works continue to progress.

Limondale 2, the smaller first part of the site, has successfully achieved market registration and will commence a period of detailed grid connection and commissioning tests in 2020.

24 November 2019: Home stretch for the piling works - over 80% of piles now installed

Approximate 25.000 solar panels were installed on average every week in November.

Preparations for the energisation of the second part of the site (Limondale 1) have commenced.

On peak days more than 500 people work on site.

30 October 2019: 30% of the solar farm PV panels installed

Piling works keep progressing, over 41,000 of 58,000 piles are in the ground.

43 of the 57 inverter stations are now installed.

The substation of the bigger second part of the site (Limondale 1) has been completed by grid operator TransGrid.

20 September 2019: Foundations for all 57 inverter stations complete

Piling works keep progressing, over 41,000 of 58,000 piles are in the ground.

43 of the 57 inverter stations are now installed.

The substation of the bigger second part of the site (Limondale 1) has been completed by grid operator TransGrid.

19 August 2019: First electricity exported

The substation for the smaller first part of the site (Limondale 2) has successfully been energised and we generated the first electricity from Limondale on 12th August.

Over one third of the solar farm’s 58,000 piles are now installed.

The new O&M building and adjacent store are nearing completion, which will house Limondale’s operational team.

27 June 2019: Commissioning works continue

The grid connection for the smaller first part of the site has been completed by grid operator TransGrid.

Commissioning works on the smaller substation and the SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system are progressing.

Installation and connection works of PV panels and tracker systems continue.

07 June 2019: Wiring of PV panels commenced

PV panels and tracker systems that are already mechanically complete and inverter modules are now being electrically connected.

Commissioning works on small substation started.

The SCADA (Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition) system is being set-up and tested. This will allow remote monitoring of the solar farm.

15 May 2019: Pile installation continues

Wiring of the first tracker motor now underway.

The first of two substations has been installed.

Installation of inverter modules continues.

17 April 2019: First PV panels are installed

Pile installation continues, with around 10% of 66.000 piles now installed.

Erection of the tracker support frames and PV panels has commenced.

Electrical cable installation is progressing.

12 March 2019: Foundation works have started

Daily delivery of piles, cables, PV solar and other items are being received at around 16 containers per day.

The extensive perimeter fencing (18km) is complete and a number of temporary workshops and stores have also been assembled.

Piling of the PV module supports has commenced. Two piling rigs have already installed several hundred steel piles.

The four inverter modules have arrived on site.

17 January 2019: Main components arrived on site

Site facilities are being established and vegetation is being cleared.

Areas for deliveries and temporary workshops are being set up, ready to receive the first deliveries of materials and components that are due this month.

Works on the site perimeter fence are also scheduled to begin shortly.
2018 project updates
17 December 2018: Pre-construction works have been completed

Site access road to the compound area is complete from the Yanga Way.

Construction has started.