A solar farm in regional NSW will help deliver electricity to Sydney’s north west metro rail services.
Beryl Solar Farm includes 260,000 solar modules on a 145-hectare site outside Gulgong and is expected to begin supplying electricity to the power grid from mid-2019.
Part of the energy produced by Beryl will offset the entire operational electricity needs of the new Sydney Metro Northwest railway.
If follows the 2013 commitment from the NSW Government to fully offset the greenhouse gas emissions from operational electricity use of Sydney Metro Northwest.
A separate solar array has also been installed at Sydney Metro HQ in Rouse Hill in 2017. The 1.1 Megawatt array is as big as a football field with 3287 panels.
This array is the biggest on any NSW Government building and covers more than 6500 square metres, two-thirds of the maintenance building roof at the Sydney Metro Trains Facility.
It will generate 1.5 million kilowatt hours of electricity per year, enough to power 270 homes.
The electricity generated will be used to power some of the Sydney Metro railway stations as well as the maintenance facility where Sydney’s metro trains will be services.
The trains use high voltage power not related to the Rouse Hill Solar array.
Related stories:
- QUT researchers make solar panel breakthrough
- Windows of opportunity to harness solar energy in infrastructure
- Global giant to build solar farm near Gladstone