| Western Downs Green Power Hub | |
| Country: | Australia |
| Location: | 22km southeast of Chinchilla, Queensland |
| Status: | Operational |
| Construction Began: | June 2020 |
| Cost: | $600 million |
| Owner: | Neoen |
| Solar Type: | PV |
| Solar Collectors: | 1,000,000 |
| Ps Electrical Capacity: | 400 |
| Website: | https://westerndownsgreenpowerhub.com.au/ |
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. It utilizes 72-cell bi-facial solar modules on single-axis trackers; a system that tracks the sun throughout the day.[1] It was the largest solar farm in Australia for some time.[1]
The 1,500 hectare solar farm is owned and operated by Neoen. The state government-owned renewable energy operator CleanCo has signed an agreement to purchase 80% of the project's capacity.[2]
Construction began in June 2020.[3] The solar farm was built by Sterling & Wilson.[3] Exports to the grid had begun by August 2022.[4] The final solar panel was installed on 1 May 2023. 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]