Final modules installed at Broken Hill Solar Plant

Representatives from AGL, First Solar and the Australian Renewable Energy Agency (ARENA) gathered today at the Broken Hill Solar Plant to see the last of 677,760 solar panels installed.

The installation comes less than a month after the solar plant began generating energy, feeding an initial 26 MW of renewable energy into the National Electricity Market, and six months after its sister plant, the 102 MW Nyngan Solar Plant, was switched on.

Jack Curtis, First Solar’s regional manager for Asia Pacific, said the company’s cadmium telluride (CdTe) modules offer significant efficiency and reliability advantages over typical crystalline silicon modules, particularly in a hot climate like Broken Hill.

“By combining industry-leading thin film modules and construction techniques, this project demonstrates First Solar’s capability to rapidly develop and construct a solar asset at competitive prices,” said Curtis.

The Broken Hill and Nyngan plants are being constructed by AGL in partnership with First Solar, local councils and local communities. When complete, the $440 million solar project will have a combined generation capacity of up to 155 MW — enough to power 50,000 average Australian homes.

The Broken Hill plant is on schedule to be fully operational by the end of the year.