The Western Downs Green Power Hub is a large solar farm at the Kogan Creek Power Station near Chinchilla in Queensland, Australia. The photovoltaic solar power station uses one million solar panels to generate 400 megawatts of power.[2] It utilizes 72-cell bi-facial solar modules on single-axis trackers; a system that tracks the sun throughout the day.[3] It was the largest solar farm in Australia for some time.[3]
The 1,500 hectare solar farm is owned and operated by Neoen. The state government-owned renewable energy operator CleanCo Queensland has signed an agreement to purchase 80% of the project's capacity.[2]
Construction began in June 2020.[1] The solar farm was built by Sterling & Wilson.[1] Exports to the grid had begun by August 2022.[4] The final solar panel was installed on 1 May 2023.[5] The event was attended by state premier Annastacia Palaszczuk.[5]
The hub will also contain a 200MW/400MWh big battery. Construction of the battery had begun by January 2023.[6] The PV station and battery, along with two other batteries, are connected to the national grid via the Western Downs substation and a new 275 kilovolt line constructed by Powerlink Queensland.[7] Battery containers for a 270MW/540MWh section are made in Shanghai.[8]